Driving south on I-5 a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a flurry of swallow
activity at the Mt. St. Helens ash pile just north of the bridge over the
Toutle River. On the way back north I pulled over briefly to glass the
exposed bank (a bulldozer sits at its base). I didn't see any birds so I
headed on.



Today, I asked another wildlife biologist who was headed that way to have a
look. He came back with tales of lots of swallows and lots of burrow
openings in the freshly exposed vertical face. He identified the birds as
Bank Swallows.



Kelly McAllister

Olympia, Washington