The Swallows Are Here!

Observation by Anja Palic:

The swallows are in Togiak, AK

Comments from LEO Editors:

Alaska is home to six species of swallow. Near Togiak, common species may include cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), bank swallows (Riparia riparia), violet-green swallows (Tachycineta thalassina), and tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) and rough-winged swallows (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) are more common in Southeast.

Swallows are long-distant migrants, traveling from Alaska and Canada down to breeding grounds in Central and South America, often returning to Alaska in spring. Alaska residents and wildlife welcome these birds each year because of their hearty appetite for mosquitos, flies, and other winged insects. Swallow colonies pop-up around Alaska, with some nesting in gravel pits and excavations, as well as large colonies such as those in Howling Dog Canyon along the Porcupine River, and near the Maclaren Glacier.

Swallow populations are fluctuating as the environment changes. In 2016, the Alaska Songbird Institute began studying changes in swallow populations and formed the Alaska Swallow Monitoring Network. This network brings together students, teachers, homeowners and scientists from across the state to share more about phenology and breeding success of swallows in the north.

You can share your observation with the Alaska Swallow Monitoring Network on their Facebook page.