Petition: Save London's Bank Swallows
1030 Byron Baseline Rd N6K 2C6 London, ON, Canada

More coverage of the plight of London's bank swallows - thanks to London Environmental Network for helping to get the word out! Learn more about the bank swallow colony in the Byron gravel pit by checking out our blog post https://www.londonenvironment.net/plight_of_the_bank_swallow If you live in Byron or London, please share this link and help us educate the community about the importance of conserving bird habitat!

Thank you to everyone who has read, signed and shared the petition. We have posted a status update on the Byron gravel pit bank swallow colony as an addendum in the original note. Please read it below.

Some good news about the Byron pit bank swallows: the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks sent a letter response to our concerns and indicated bank swallows and their breeding habitat in Byron are protected under the ESA. Thanks to @KateYoungMP for pursuing this! https://t.co/t4zkPlFa9M

https://london.ctvnews.ca//yurek-gets-behind-effort-to-sav

Hi everyone! We just wanted to share a quick update. We have taken our concerns about as far as we can go for now, drawing interest and advocacy from Kate Young & Peggy Sattler, and support from London EnviroNetwork, Nature London and other local groups. We hope to meet with the Mayor and city officials soon to discuss mitigation plans for the colony and their habitat at Byron. We are still working behind the scenes to try and get some answers about potential conflicts betwee...n the Species at Risk Act and Aggregate Resources Acts and get clarity about ongoing obligations and plans for the site. The site owners put up new No Trespassing signs and closed the gates, so we havent been able to check on the colony lately, but we are confident (based on historical data for bank swallows in the region) that most of the young should have fledged by now and will be heading south to their wintering grounds in the coming weeks. Keep a look out for bank swallows foraging along the Thames River (Deshkan Ziibi) around Storybook Gardens and area, and consider submitting your birding sightings to eBird! We will continue to update as soon as we know more. Thank you once again for all of your support in this effort - this is truly a grassroots community movement and we cannot do this without you!

More coverage of the plight of Londons bank swallows - thanks to London Environmental Network for helping to get the word out! Learn more about the bank swallow colony in the Byron gravel pit by checking out our blog post https://www.londonenvironment.net/plight_of_the_bank_swallow If you live in Byron or London, please share this link and help us educate the community about the importance of conserving bird habitat!

Fill being dumped at Byron gravel pit site as of June 26 2020. Location of southernmost portion of colony, in relation to machine operations, shown by large yellow arrow

We counted 22 species at the site yesterday, including Belted Kingfisher, Spotted Sandpiper, breeding Mallards, and a very industrious Wild Turkey. You can see the full checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S70860238?share=true

Update: Our Bank Swallows are working hard to feed their young, which are getting close to fledging - theyre almost ready to leave the nest! Unfortunately, dump trucks continue to dump fill near the far edge of the colony, which now has the least activity in the colony. Your signatures send a strong message that Londoners and Canadians care about protecting species at risk - we are still hopeful to find a solution that will allow the landowner to develop their site while preserving the critical bank swallow habitat. Thank you for lending your voice to this cause! Photos from June 26 2020

https://london.ctvnews.ca/little-known-giant-colony-of-bank

Thanks for signing the petition everyone - people are listening! https://www.cbc.ca//london-ontario-byron-pit-swallows-bird

Please note that donations are not needed (change.org will ask you to donate, but that money will support the platform, not the petition or this conservation effort).

Check out this panorama of the entire bank swallow colony at the Byron gravel pit. The colony size is estimated at 1913 individuals. A single hole/burrow in the wall is used by two birds for a nest. Approximately half of all burrows are active during a breeding season. http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/221487

Please sign the petition! https://www.change.org/p/city-of-london-save-london-ontario

Bank swallows filmed at the Byron gravel pit near their colony of 1,913 burrows.