Bird-loving Islanders have recently banded together and signed a petition to let King County officials know that they want the barn swallows at the recycling center to be able to return to their longtime nesting sites next year.

The fate of the recycling center’s swallows first came to the attention of Islander Kathy Abascal one morning last summer, when she arrived and saw a large net keeping two sets of swallows away from their nests on light fixtures at the building.

Abascal, upset about the net and the effect it had on the birds, complained to the transfer station personnel and worked her way up the chain of command. By 1 p.m. that afternoon, Abascal said, the contractor who had put the net up at the request of King County personnel had returned and taken it down, also at their request. She has watched the swallows at the recycling center for a decade, she said, and increased her trips when there were young birds in the nests.

“It was one of the things that made recycling fun, watching their birds hatch,” she said.

Abascal noted that the birds are beneficial and eat insects, including mosquitoes, which sometimes carry disease.

In August, after hearing that next year King County might prohibit the swallows from nesting on the lights and attempt to get them to nest in a different location, Abascal drafted a petition, asking that the county leave the birds alone. Islander Harsi Parker joined Abascal in the effort. Paper petitions are in several Island businesses, and another is online. In all, roughly 400 people have signed.

At King County’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP), spokesperson Logan Harris said there was never any intent to disrupt the birds and that the net was put up initially in response to several Islanders’ complaints about bird droppings.

“As soon as we realized there were unintended consequences, we removed the nets,” Harris said.

County personnel have discussed different options for the next nesting season, ranging from leaving the swallows alone to establishing a nesting box at the property, and Harris said he knows feelings about this issue are running high.

“It does feel that there is speculation about what we’re doing that is just not accurate,” he said.

DNRP staff have requested input from public health officials about whether or not swallows and their droppings pose any health hazards, Harris said. So far, they have not heard back, and as of now, they have no plans to intervene with the swallows next summer.

For Abascal, who said she believes swallows do not carry disease, that is good news.

“Our hope is that what they decide to do is make no plans and leave it alone,” she said. “The majority of people and the birds are happy.”

Abascal said she will close the petitions within a few days and deliver the signatures to a county representative.