April 11th, 2025
In 2024, Rod Green and Justine Macdonald constructed a beautiful barn swallow shelter at Barb's Marsh - funded by a grant from the Queen's University - Alma Mater Society. Barn and cliff swallows were quite abundant at QUBS in the 1990s and early 2000s, nesting in old barn structures and under bridges, but have since declined dramatically. Reasons are probably multifold including diminution of insects on which they feed, climate change, and loss of out buildings and barns. On April 11th we added nest 'shelves' to the stucture - visible in the shadows in the photo below. Now we simply wait and hope that some swallows will return and use this!
