Barn Swallows and Humans | Boulder Audubon Program
Sydney Rayl
Barn Swallows and Humans: The Rise and Fall of Coexistence in a Changing World
Are you captivated by colorful Barn Swallows, with their fast flying and long forked tails, twisting and turning as they catch insects on the wing? Join us for Boulder County Audubon's February program with Dr. Rebecca J. Safran where she will discuss how humans and barn swallows have evolved together, and how we may continue to evolve on a changing planet.
This talk will explore this story of human and barn swallow expansion and co-settlement – a relationship that has lasted for thousands of years and is now changing abruptly as barn swallows – at home just about anywhere on planet earth – are being brought to the limits of adaptation. The story of the barn swallow is not unlike our own – as there are now places where these birds can no longer thrive, humans too are currently contending with areas rendered uninhabitable due to the effects of climate change, whether it be sea level rise, extreme heat, fire, or flood. What will be our future story of home? Will our longstanding relationship with the barn swallow persist in this new climate?
Dr. Safran is a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado-Boulder. She is also Founding co-Director of Inside the Greenhouse for creative climate communication, where her focus includes an exploration of humans and birds living side by side in the natural world. Learn more here!
To view recordings of past BCAS programs, visit our YouTube page.