In my years of regular birding at Gilsland Farm, I’ve seen several species come, and others go, as breeders on the landscape. These changes are generally caused by changing habitat compositions and of course our warming climate, which has caused historically southern species to now nest here. We typically think of nesting habitats as the meadows, the pond, our forest edge or marsh along the river, but there are also many birds taking advantage of the man-made structures at Gilsland Farm.
Many bird houses are used by secondary cavity nesters (birds that nest in cavities but can’t make their own) like Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and House Wrens. House Finches love nesting in the cross-beams of the solar panels, Mourning Doves have taken to the newer Outdoor Classroom, and Eastern Phoebes continue to nest just outside the door between our two buildings—possibly the busiest place for foot traffic but it has what they need.
Birds were also dwelling in the old barn at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center. No surprise here, they were Barn Swallows; several pairs were nesting there each summer (Read our Backyard Bird of the Month feature to learn more about the species). Knowing the barn needed to come down, a primary goal was to deconstruct the building in such a way that would have the least impact on the birds and give them the best chance at continuing to nest here. That meant beginning the deconstruction of the barn and erecting a new nest site before the swallows returned in the spring. I want to emphasize the importance of this timing; we often hear about human-wildlife conflicts in the summer because people decide to do a construction project or take down trees during the nesting season. Avoid that if you can!
Joe Barns, Facilities Manager at Maine Audubon, built a new structure (photo above) based on data and plans from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, as well as Bird Ecology and Conservation Ontario (BECO) and the BECO study on using social attraction to encourage relocation. Previously-used nests were salvaged from the barn and added to our new structure to help with the transition.
Now may be a good time to mention that Barn Swallows don’t need barns. They are the most widespread swallow species in the world, occurring in more places without barns than with. Despite their English common name being “Barn,” a better descriptor comes from their scientific name, Hirundo rustica, rustica meaning rustic or “of the country.” We know aerial insectivores are seeing some of the largest population declines—Cliff and Bank swallows were recently added to Maine’s endangered species list—so we need to take these added steps to help preserve these birds where they are well established.
