Attracting Swallows to Conservation Land – April 26, 2015
Part #2 Field Workshop: Attracting Swallows to Conservation Land
Cliff Swallows once nested in great numbers throughout New England on farmsteads, which provided open fields for foraging, ample mud for nest-building,
and nesting sites. With the decline of agriculture, increase in introduced House Sparrows, and regrowth of fields to forests, Cliff Swallows are becoming
a rare sight in New England. More recently, Barn Swallows are meeting the same fate. But you can help the swallows!
Join swallow expert Mara Silver for an afternoon in the field, where she will demonstrate techniques she has used to increase swallow breeding success
at her study sites. Mara will discuss the finer points of site selection, lead the group in creating a mud puddle for swallow nest materials, install
pre-made nests, and learn about other factors important to the success of breeding swallows. FLT staff and landowners Roger and Joanne Clapp will be
on hand to discuss the importance of the larger conserved landscape along Main Poland road to this endeavor.
Where: 630 Main Poland Rd., Conway MA
When: 1 pm to 3 pm, Sunday April 26th
Bring: Mud-capable shoes, work clothes, binoculars
RSVP: to Joshua Morse, jmorse@franklinlandtrust.org
.
Note: ENROLLMENT LIMITED TO 8, FIRST COME FIRST SERVED
Free & Open to All with Mara Silver & Josh Morse
The Franklin Land Trust is partnering with local expert Mara Silver to host this three-part series introducing the natural history and conservation status
of two familiar birds of the agricultural landscape, the Cliff Swallow and Barn Swallow. Over the course of three workshops, we will provide landowners
with the knowledge and technical support needed to take steps to help arrest the decline of both species on their own properties. Taking place at the
Franklin Land Trust’s new Shelburne Falls Office and on in the field on privately conserved properties in Conway, Deerfield, and Shelburne, this series
is an ideal opportunity for interested landowners to learn how their choices for their properties future can help keep two iconic species common on
the working landscape of western Massachusetts.
Mara studied the same colony of Cliff Swallows at Graves Farm in Williamsburg, MA for 20 years.
This event is sponsored in part by a grant from the Local Cultural Councils of Deerfield &
Conway.
Local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.