Bank swallows (Riparia riparia) are insectivorous songbirds with a distinctive dark brown breast band separating their brown upperparts from their white underparts. Known for their fast, agile flights, these small passerines can be seen buzzing acrobatically through the air along Prince Edward Island’s coasts during the spring and summertime. Bank swallows nest colonially in sandstone cliffs, till bluffs, high sand dunes, and sand pits. As they fly over nearby meadows, wetlands, and agricultural grasslands they forage on insects like beetles, wasps, bees, flying ants, and mayflies. Based on this feeding strategy, bank swallows belong to a guild of birds called aerial insectivores. Like many aerial insectivores, bank swallow populations in Canada are declining due to threats contributing to the loss of their breeding and foraging habitats: land use changes and associated agricultural intensification, and the practice of shoreline armouring. Bank swallow may also be indirectly impacted by pesticide use, which reduces the abundance and availability of their insect prey. In recognition of these threats, bank swallow was listed as a threatened species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) in 2017.
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Like many Islanders, our family is grappling with the effects of Hurricane Fiona in both our backyard and in our adopted homeland, the Island. Having moved to Prince Edward Island in 2021 from Toronto, Ontario, the lure of the night sky, the open views and the wonderful community drew us here. We purchased a hobby farm in Orwell. We grew abundant gardens, and our children ran freely outdoors, often playing in the old maple and linden trees where we hung swings. Also new in this past year was a great personal career development. I joined the Island Nature Trust as their new Fund Development Coordinator in September of 2022 and was welcomed by an incredible team of engaged and generous co-workers, all sharing the goal of the protection and preservation of our Island’s natural areas.
As it was for many of our friends and neighbours, Hurricane Fiona drastically altered the landscape of our community and of our property. In the days preceding the storm we prepared as best we could. In the garden, I harvested all that I could from our apple trees. I brought in tomatoes that were barely blushing and the children kept busy harvesting grapes. We checked on the tree supports for our tender new plantings that had gone in during this past spring. The work felt meaningful, and on Friday night before the storm, I walked the land with our St. Bernard puppy Rose, feeling the transition of the weather as the storm winds started to pick up.
By morning, as the gale winds howled, we truly saw the scale of the devastation outside our home. As we gave thanks for the safety of our home and family, our eyes were drawn over and over to the uprooted 200-year-old linden tree, the limbs fallen from the large maple and the 50-foot fir trees, snapped in two. The Annabelle hydrangeas that cheerily engulfed the base of our front porch were barren and battered and our raspberry patch looked more like trampled sticks, denuded of all their foliage.
Returning to the Island Nature Trust office post storm, the team gathered and the shared grief over the destruction of the natural wonders of our island was couched with the deep gratitude explored by the stewardship team who so eloquently shared with us how the natural features of our island protected us and absorbed the very worst of the storm.
Now, as we get back to work and the urgent need for funding to protect our natural areas is greater than ever, we look not only towards what can be done island-wide but also in our own backyards. The incredible connectivity of nature is more apparent than ever as we steward our own choices moving on from the chaos of the storm.
I wanted to share our path forward as we start to assess the changes to our backyard ecosystem and offer some suggestions as we let nature take the lead in healing our island. With the help from our incredible ecologists here at INT, we have come up with some tangible and actionable options for caring for your own patch of PEI.
Observe and assess; the implications from the storm and how it has impacted your local ecosystem around your home may not be apparent within even the first few weeks post-storm. Observe what has changed and take note. It may be useful to look back through old pictures or your camera roll to see how the storm has changed the landscape and what plant materials have been damaged or removed.
Choose a closed-loop system; where the space permits, keeping the storm debris and using it for composting or wood chips allows the organic materials from the trees and plants on your land to regenerate your property.
Give thought to a replanting plan; you may want to choose to plant native varieties where non-indigenous ones once stood. The resilience of these plants can be greater when faced with major storm events as they are adapted to our specific climate and conditions.
Expand the variety of plant material on your land by choosing plants that have different ecological functions. Adding plant habitats and food sources for birds, pollinators, insects and beyond will have a real impact on the island’s restoration.
So, what does that look like in our little homestead? Follow along as we endeavor to move through the four-step process above. We’ll be sharing photos, plant lists and more and welcome your questions and feedback.
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As the summer comes to an end, so does our Farmland Birds program. This program is a partnership with the provincial department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action, as well as the federal program for Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands.
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Jeanne Maki is one of the private land stewards that has taken the safekeeping of PEI’s natural areas into her own hands. Jeanne protected two forested properties in 2019 under the PEI Natural Areas Protection Act, the 40.5-acre Page and Maki Natural Area in Lewes and the 50-acre Jeanne Maki Natural Area in Iona. Jeanne has been a fixture in the conservation community for many years and was the 2020 recipient of the Hon. J. Angus MacLean Natural Areas Award for her significant work in increasing and improving natural areas in PEI. Here are a few thoughtful words from Jeanne about her choice to protect her land:
Read moreHere at the Trust, we are ready to greet the long-awaited arrival of summer and we welcome you to venture out to one of natural areas. While we understand people’s need to immerse themselves in the natural environment, it is crucial to do so while being mindful of our responsibilities to Island wildlife.
Please read, download or print our Island Nature Trust – Trail Code of Care before venturing out to one of our natural area trails.
Read moreThis fascinating but threatened bird has faced a busy and challenging summer. Now it’s time to wish it a ‘bon voyage’…
@brussell
INT has been teaching young people across PEI how to take care of our vulnerable coastline.
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