About Bank Swallows

The Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) has been recorded in the lowlands of California since ornithologists began to explore these areas in the mid-nineteenth century (Grinnell and Miller 1944). Newberry (1857) considered the species to be common throughout California during his era. Today, Bank Swallows are locally common only in certain restricted portions of their historic range where sandy, vertical bluffs or riverbanks are available for these colonial birds to construct their nest burrows. The Bank Swallow nests in earthen banks and bluffs, as well as sand and gravel pits.

The Bank Swallow is primarily a riparian species throughout its North American and Eurasian breeding range. Once locally abundant in suitable habitats, numbers have declined statewide in recent years. It is now absent as a breeding bird in southern California. A Department of Fish and Wildlife study of the statewide population of Bank Swallows in 1987 found that the current population center for the species is along the Sacramento and Feather Rivers in the Sacramento Valley. Other concentration areas include the Klamath Basin and Modoc County areas in northeastern California. Most historical records of Bank Swallow nesting colonies were from central and southern California, where populations no longer exist. During 1987, only four colonies were found south of San Francisco Bay. The Sacramento River and Feather River populations comprise about 64 percent of the colonies and 70-90% of the California population.