Swallows

Industrial agriculture, with its heavy use of chemical pesticides, pollutes our water and soil and leads to loss of habitats and biodiversity, according to a Greenpeace report. With almost one in four (24.5%) vulnerable or endangered species in the EU being threatened by agricultural effluents, including the use of pesticides and fertilizers, species survival and crucial ecosystem services, like pollination, are at risk. Political and financial support is urgently needed to shift from chemical-intensive, damaging agricultural methods, to sustainable ecological farming practices. In Europe, a catastrophic decline of insects was signaled by the "IUCN Task Force on Systemic Pesticides" in 2015, after analyzing over 800 scientific reports. The impacts can be devastating, as 70 per cent of the 124 major commodity crops directly used for human consumption like apples and rapeseed are dependent on pollination for enhanced seed, fruit, or vegetable production. Dirk Zimmermann, Ecological Farming Campaigner at Greenpeace Germany said: "Europe's dependency on chemical pesticides is nothing short of an addiction. Crops are routinely doused with a variety of chemicals, usually applied multiple times to single crops throughout the whole growing season. Non-chemical alternatives to pest management are already available to farmers but need the necessary political and financial support to go mainstream."

Canada is home to billions of birds belonging to some 451 regularly occurring native species that raise their young or spend their non-breeding seasons in this vast and varied country. Increasingly, these birds face many threats here and elsewhere. On average, Canadian breeding bird populations have decreased 12% since 1970 when effective monitoring began for most species. Some groups, such as grassland birds, aerial insectivores and shorebirds, are showing major declines. Aerial insectivores—birds that catch insects in flight—are declining more steeply than any other group of birds. Some formerly very common species like the Barn Swallow and Chimney Swift have declined to less than a quarter of their 1970-level populations.

Die Schwalbe sollte einst den Höfen Glück bringen, unter deren Dächern sie ihre Nester baute. Doch inzwischen werden die Vögel mit dem charakteristischen langen Schwanz immer seltener. Manfred Weber aus Stadelhofen kennt die Gründe und hat auch ein paar Tipps parat, was man für die bedrohte Vogelart tun kann. Bald ein Sommer ohne Schwalben? Es werden jedenfalls immer weniger. Vor etwa 20 Jahren habe es in der Industriestraße in Stadelhofen, wo Manfred Weber wohnt, eine Schwalbenkolonie mit rund 50 Nestern gegeben, jetzt seien davon noch zwei bis drei übrig geblieben. Die Schwalben sind standorttreu und kehren nach dem Winter im Süden immer wieder zum gleichen Ort zurück. Daher ist die geringe Zahl der Vögel ein deutliches Indiz dafür, dass es immer weniger Schwalben gibt. Manfred Weber, der sich im Naturschutzbund Nabu Offenburg für Artenschutz einsetzt, kann erklären, warum es immer weniger Schwalben gibt. »Ein Grund ist der Nahrungsmangel. Schwalben fressen Fluginsekten wie Schnaken und Fliegen. Leider gibt es immer weniger Insekten«, sagt er.

It is a good question, and many local people are wondering about the answer. Biologists confirm that swallow numbers have dropped precipitously in the past 50 years, by up to 90 per cent. Researchers describe the decline as “shocking.” The numbers of barn swallows, trees swallows and purple martins have collapsed especially rapidly. “Maybe (the time) when insects are abundant is no longer when swallows are breeding,” suggested Tara Imlay of Dalhousie University. It is as if the peak breeding period, and peak food supply, are no longer in sync. In Ontario, the barn swallow population has fallen by close to 70 per cent since 1966. “The decline is especially alarming because swallows used to be so abundant and widespread,” said expert Bridget Stutchbury. Biologists estimate that in North America about 50 per cent of all songbirds have vanished in the past 50 years.

The guild of ‘aerial insectivores’ – birds that specialize on feeding on flying insects – includes Whip-poor-wills, nighthawks, swifts, swallows, martins, and flycatchers. Early results from the second Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas indicated some startling declines and even range contractions for this guild. Now that the 2001-2005 Ontario Atlas is complete, the plight of aerial insectivores is gaining increasing attention. The patterns of decline are mirrored very closely by the Breeding Bird Survey, not only in Ontario, but also across much of North America. Early results from the second Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas and data from the recently completed second New York State Atlas also point to similar patterns. The magnitude of the declines, especially within the past 20 years or so, is alarming. The proverbial clock may well be ticking down on many common species of aerial insectivores in Canada. In the last two decades alone, populations have fallen by over 70% in the case of Bank Swallow, Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, and Barn Swallow, and by over 50% for Cliff Swallow, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Eastern Kingbird, and Purple Martin. Declines have been so severe that Chimney Swift, Common Nighthawk, and Olive-sided Flycatcher were recently designated as nationally Threatened species. Barn Swallow, Bank Swallow, and Eastern Wood-Pewee may not be far behind.

Man hat sich mit Uwe Westphal verabredet, um mit ihm über heimische Singvögel zu sprechen. Er ist das, was man einen Experten nennt, er hat Biologie mit den Schwerpunkten Zoologie und Ökologie studiert, er hat lange Zeit beim Nabu gearbeitet, war Biologe an der Naturschutz-Akademie in Wetzlar, und außerdem und vor allem hat er die Begabung, Vogelstimmen zu imitieren. Er wuchs auf einem Bauernhof im niedersächsischen Maschen auf, und dort und damals war die Welt noch in Ordnung. Der Storch saß beim Nachbarn auf dem Scheunendach, die Schwalben flogen abenteuerliche Manöver, über den Feldern sangen die Feldlerchen, und Kiebitze, die gab es auch. Und heute? Uwe Westphal kneift die Augen zusammen. „Heute?“, fragt er zurück, beinahe klingt es verächtlich. „Der Hänfling ist kaum noch da. Die Lerche, früher ein Allerweltsvogel, ist heute eine Besonderheit. Die Grauammer ist im Westen ganz verschwunden. Und der Kiebitz? Der wurde nach unten regelrecht durchgereicht. Stand erst auf der Vorwarnliste, dann stufte man ihn als gefährdet ein, dann als stark gefährdet, und bald wird es heißen, er sei vom Aussterben bedroht. Wir sind mitten im größten Artensterben seit dem Ende der Dinosaurier“, sagt er, „wir wissen nicht, wie es ausgeht. Es ist apokalyptisch.“

The black swift (Cypseloides niger), a bird that nests in cliff-side habitats often associated with waterfalls and found in Banff National Park, is on the brink of extinction in Canada. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) met in Quebec April 26 to May 1 to examine the status of 20 species, ranging from lichen and fish to whales and wolves. The black swift, found in British Columbia and extreme western Alberta, was assessed as endangered. COSEWIC scientists say the black swift has experienced a large population decline over recent decades in the United States and in Canada, like many other birds that specialize on a diet of flying insects.They say the Canadian population appears to have declined by more than 50 per cent over a 40-year period between 1973 and 2012, now at an estimated 15,000 to 60,000 mature individuals.