New documentary explores the lives of Bank swallows on Lake Michigan’s bluffs

So before we keep going, for listeners who aren't familiar with bank swallows, can you describe what they look like?

Yeah, so bank swallows, I think, are really a very plain looking brown bird.

Their wings are brown, most of their head is brown, and then their chest and neck is white.

And then they have a signature like brown tie that goes down their chest.

I mean, I think, yeah, they have about a 10 inch wingspan and they weigh half an ounce.

Oh my gosh, so tiny.

So what do bank swallows eat?

Bank swallows eat insects, lots of them.

An adult typically eats about a thousand insects a day.

And then when they're raising their brood, each adult has to capture about 3,500 insects a day.

Wow.

That's like a friend I'd want to have around me.

Yeah,

well, that's what's interesting.

Lots of people want to chase away barn swallows.

But if you don't like mosquitoes, you should keep those barn swallow nests around you if you don't want the bugs.

Right.

And do bank swallows migrate or do they stay in Wisconsin year round?

Yeah, bank swallows migrate.

So in our region, they migrate from South America to North America every year.

They're considered a cosmopolitan bird.

So they exist basically all over the world on, I think, five continents.

And I know that other types of swallows, like the tree and barn swallows, they build mud nests and trees or along buildings.

But what about bank swallows? Like, how are they unique?

So bank swallows, it's what they get their name from is because they dig burrows into banks and it's basically always along rivers or lakes.