Summer wanes and each year birds like swallows and martins head back to Africa for the winter. They won’t return until spring. The challenge for communities is to find their roosts where they left them and stop construction work from destroying those nesting sites during renovations.
In another report, El Periódico de Catalunya, part of the Prensa Ibérica group, notes that rural agents again intervened to protect a sizable number of nests that were either clogged or damaged. To prevent harm, residents in rural areas stepped up preventive inspections. If damage occurs, criminal penalties and hefty fines follow. In some cases, not only locals file complaints; the Prosecutor’s Office pursues them and convictions can result.
Over the summer, the Barcelona region alone recorded more than ten fines for nest destruction.
An example involved a head of a property owners’ association who had repaired a rainwater channel on a rooftop in a town near Barcelona. A construction worker damaged all the nests of the common house martin (Delichon urbicum), a member of the swallow family perched on the upper facade.
More than ten fines issued in the Barcelona region this summer alone
In May, samples from the area showed the birds were mid-incubation. This behavior prompted the community leader and the mason to appear in a Granollers court facing wildlife-related charges.
Fine and two-year work ban
A negotiated agreement with the prosecutor’s office helped avoid harsher penalties for the community leader and the mason. The sentence included six to two years in prison, plus a fine and disqualification.
Following the agreement, the two men admitted the facts, and the judge issued a formal sentence: a 1,200 euro fine and a disqualification from any trade involving construction work or facade repairs, plus 1,440 euros and the same two-year ban for the other party, restricting their future employment in the industry.
The ruling is clear: even though the birds and their eggs were protected, nests, eggs, and chicks were destroyed. The case underscores how the protection extends to reproduction and survival, as confirmed by a neighbor who reported the incident to rural agents.
The judge emphasized that the common swallow is protected under the Berne Convention, European directives, and Spanish law. The regulation forbids not only hunting or possession, but any acts that cause discomfort or hinder reproduction. The Spanish Penal Code addresses those who interfere with protected species, and protection remains even if nesting sites are empty.
Special authorization
The question is: what can be done when swallows occupy a building? A special permit from the Department for Climate Action is required, and approvals often include compensatory measures such as installing artificial nests when granted, explains Jaume Bosch, head of rural agents in the Barcelona area.
“When called, we assess the situation and aim to promote preventive actions. If the problem persists and nests are destroyed, sanctions and complaints up to the Prosecutor’s Office are pursued,” he notes. This summer, those measures were enacted only in the Barcelona region, resulting in more than ten fines.
Some cities still see nest destruction as a quick fix, such as washing nests with a broom to remove droppings. In most cases, however, authorities focus on research and reform to protect wildlife.
“Municipal councils are gradually improving, but awareness remains uneven. Some people do not realize these species are protected and that nests cannot be destroyed in winter,” Bosch explains. At the Institut Català d’Ornitologia (ICO), a census of swallows and bats is being carried out so residents can check for registered nests on their buildings.
Environmental services from the Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office have filed numerous complaints in recent years against those who destroy nests in older homes.
Rural officials remind that these birds help control pests
The responsibility does not fall solely on laborers or masons. Supervisors and company managers also bear responsibility, as seen in a renovation project in the Catalan capital where four holes were covered with a metal grill to seal ventilation, trapping three birds. A neighbor alerted authorities, and nearby residents removed the barriers to save the birds.
According to Bosch, architecture schools and the construction industry are already incorporating wildlife-protection measures: protecting biodiversity in cities now supports a healthier future. He adds that swallows eat thousands of mosquitoes daily, a valuable ecological service.
The prosecutor’s office has also pursued a case against an individual who repaired a bellows in a building façade without justification, breaking a martin nest on the wall.
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Contact information for the environmental department was provided to aid residents and officials in handling wildlife concerns.