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Northern Colorado Bird Alliance Presents
Dr. Rebecca Safran presenting
“Barn Swallows and Humans: The Rise and Fall of Coexistence in a Changing World”
Thursday, May 14th, 2026
Social time with Refreshments: 7:00
Announcements 7:20;
Member Slideshow 7:30;
Fort Collins Senior Center, 1200 Raintree Dr.
***This program will also be accessible online using Zoom***
It will also be viewable in-person at the Senior Center.
Enter the following link on your web browser at 7 p.m. and follow the instructions to join the meeting virtually: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86310595299
Barn Swallow by Joesph Webber.
When humans began constructing permanent settlements during the Holocene some 10,000 years ago, they established new ecological niches for the animals and plants whose distributions expanded alongside their own. The Barn Swallow is one of those species whose expansion tracks with human settlement patterns and now is one of the most widespread species of bird on our planet encompassing breeding populations on both hemispheres and all but two continents. Artefacts from ancient human civilizations portray an enduring story between humans and Barn Swallows. This longstanding shared history of humans and Barn Swallows living side-by-side in our built environment is changing again dramatically. Throughout many parts of their widespread range, Barn Swallows are declining. Dr. Safran will highlight her research lab's longterm comparative studies of Barn Swallows throughout their entire range spanning the northern hemisphere and Middle East, and examine their precipitous decline.
Dr. Safran is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado where her research group focuses on questions related to the evolution of new species using ecological, genomics, and behavioral studies. She is the founding co-director of Inside the Greenhouse, whose mission is to adapt creative ways to communicate the science of climate change, with the goal of inspiring hope and solution-based narratives.
Join us on May 14th for this informative program that is free and open to the public. 