Some bird lovers in western Massachusetts are concerned about the fate of a home for barn swallows.
During warmer months, 35 pairs of barn swallows nest in a old barn in Hadley. It's owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The federal government says the barn has serious structural issues. It's considering repairing the building and using some of the barn to build a new structure for the swallows, other birds, and bats.
But Mara Silver, an ornithologist and barn swallow expert, said that could disrupt the bird colony -- and that it seems like the government may have already made up its mind.
"They've gutted the building," Silver said. "They've taken out all the inner walls. [It] looks like what has started is demolition. It looks like things are going on there before anything has been decided, which kind of breaks the trust a little, to say the least."
Andrew French, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said walls with mold and dead animals inside had to be removed, and electrical wires accessed, for safety.
"It needs to be structurally resilient, financially resilient, and biologically resilient," French said.
