Protected cliff swallow nests destroyed in Pitt Meadows — again

Larry Cowan has been birding for 30 years, including nearly 20 years where he lives in Pitt Meadows, B.C., about 38 kilometres east of Vancouver. In that time, Cowan says he's noticed a decline in cliff swallow sightings.

So in 2019, he was pleased to see the birds, which are protected under the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act, building a colony of nests in the observation tower in Grant Narrows Regional Park at Pitt Lake. Unfortunately, the nests were destroyed that summer, and it took four years for the swallows to try to establish their colony again at the park.

This year, Cowan saw the cliff swallows were back, building their mud nests under the eaves of the tower.

"It looked like a very vibrant colony that was taking shape, and I was really happy about that," he said.

But, once again, the nesting birds had their homes torn from the structure.

"I was devastated," said Cowan of the discovery.

According to Melissa Hafting, a fellow Pitt Meadows birder who runs B.C. Bird Alert — which informs the birding community of notable sightings — the cliff swallows had built about 30 nests on the tower this year, roughly double the number in 2019. 

She was also thrilled to see them return, and similarly crushed to see the destruction. Hafting says about half the nests were initially destroyed in early July, then several more, before the final three were torn off the structure last week. 

"How disgusting it is — that somebody would do something like this to these innocent swallows."

Officials investigating

Officials from the B.C. Conservation Officers Service (BCCOS) as well as the Canadian Wildlife Service are looking into the case.

"Environment and Climate Change Canada's Enforcement Branch is aware of the destruction of cliff swallows nests at Grant Narrows Regional Park in Pitt Meadows, B.C., and of a similar incident in 2019," said a spokesperson in a written statement, adding that nobody was available for an interview as it's an ongoing investigation.

Asked about the results of the 2019 investigation, a spokesperson for the BCCOS also declined an interview, writing, "No leads to possible suspects were found and no evidence of the damage to be caused by humans and the investigations were concluded."

The spokesperson didn't suggest any other cause of the damage in the response to CBC News, but both Hafting and Cowan said an officer told them it may have been barred owls preying on the swallows — a theory they find hard to believe.

"For that to be so clean, I don't believe it could be an owl," said Hafting.

"I sort of thought, 'Can this be natural, or could it be an animal?' But there's just no way an animal can get at it," said Cowan.

"I still feel somebody's going up there with some kind of implement to knock them down."

Messy nests

Hafting said the birds do tend to make a mess of the area below the nests, where droppings fall. She suspects that may have something to do with a motive for the nest removal — if a human is to blame.

In 2019, around the same time the first Grant Narrows investigation began, wildlife officials were also looking into an alleged case of mass cliff swallow nest destruction at Walnut Beach Resort in Osoyoos, B.C., in the Interior, about 123 kilometres south of Kelowna. In that case, nearly 150 nests were affected.

At the time, the conservancy group Nature Canada reported that the cliff swallow population in B.C. had dropped by nearly 90 per cent since 1970.

Under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, destroying nests with eggs, nestlings, or adult birds can result in warnings, fines, or prosecution.