Bank Swallow Survey and Monitoring
2021 Statewide Bank Swallow Survey
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is coordinating a statewide survey for Bank Swallows (Riparia riparia), a state threatened species, and is recruiting surveyors to conduct the statewide survey.
Altacal teams with many other agencies and organizations to help survey and monitor the Bank Swallow populations and their habitat on the Sacramento and Feather Rivers through the Bank Swallow Technical Advisory Committee (BANS-TAC). Our partners include the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Department of Water Resources, Audubon California, River Partners, Point Blue, Sacramento River Conservation Area Forum, The Nature Conservancy, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The mission statement of the BANS-TAC is to “promote collaborative long-term conservation and recovery of the Bank Swallow along the Sacramento River, its tributaries, and other areas throughout California by coordinating and supporting monitoring and research, habitat restoration and management, and outreach and education.”
This year, with COVID-19 precautions in place, the survey team of Department of Water Resources (DWR) and California Department of Fish and Wildlife worked long days to survey the Red Bluff to Colusa reach from June 9-11, 2020.
Adam Henderson, DWR survey coordinator, summarizes the highlights. “It appears we have a few completely new colony locations also, which is cool. Our smallest active colony was 44 burrows and largest 1796. We documented 6 active colonies with over 1,000 burrows.” Unfortunately, they also noticed some new revetment including a large extension from 2018 in Colusa. Positive news is that when revetment fails, Bank Swallows will take advantage - and that has been documented in many locations where the river has eroded away rock through the natural meander process.
Statewide Colony Inventory 2021.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) coordinates a statewide survey for Bank Swallows (Riparia riparia), a state threatened species, and recruits surveyors to conduct the statewide survey.
Check out the results of the
Statewide Colony Inventory 2021.
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The table below shows their draft numbers for 2020 compared to the last few years. It looks good!
2020 Survey Areas: Sacramento and Feather River
