Tree Swallow Nest Box

Tree Swallow
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Box Design for Tree Swallows

Preferred box design for Tree Swallows is slightly smaller than the NABS Eastern Bluebird box with a 1 ¼ inch entrance hole. This box design may also be used by Carolina Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, House Wrens, and Prothonotary Warblers.

The NABS box for Eastern Bluebirds is also a good box design for Prothonotary Warblers, but the entrance hole needs to be only 1 ¼ inches rather than the recommended 1 ½ inches for Eastern Bluebirds.

 Use of a predator guard on the nest pole is recommended.

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Box Placement

Ideally your box should be placed out in the open; in the middle of a rural field that is located near a wetland area or lake.

The box should be at least 100 ft from a forest edge. It is best to place the boxes away from buildings and roads.

If installing more than one box, keep boxes 100 feet from each other.

In areas where Bluebirds are competing for cavities, placing two boxes within 25 feet of each other may allow both species to nest together peacefully.

The nest box should be mounted on a ½ to ¾ inch electrical conduit post placed over a 3 to 4 ft. piece of rebar. Both materials are available at hardware stores. Pound the rebar into the ground and slide the post over it, making sure that it is solid and steady. Mounting the box on a tree or fence post is not recommended.

Mount the box so that the entrance hole is about 5 ft. from the ground and facing, if possible, to the east, away from direct summer afternoon sun and from north winds that may drive rain into the box.

Install a baffle to keep snakes, raccoons and other predators out of the nest.

Squirrels or woodpeckers sometimes damage the entrance hole, making the hole larger and thus allowing undesirable species to enter the box. This can be resolved by placing a copper or other metal hole-guard (available at hardware or wild bird retailers) over the damaged hole. A block of 1.5” hardwood with an entrance hole made and placed over the original hole will also work.

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Box  Management

To prevent doing more harm than good, do not install a box if you do not plan to monitor it. Checking the box once a week during the nesting season will help you keep out undesirable species and pests, check for leaks and damage on the box, and provide you with a wonderful education. Keep in mind that even the perfectly built and placed box may not attract a breeding pair the first year. If after two years of not having native birds nesting in your box, you may want to move it to another site.

Monitoring tips:

  • Research to recognize the eggs and nests of other species, especially House Sparrows
  • Check the box only on a warm, dry day.
  • On your day to check the box, try to observe activity of the adults and approach the box while they are away. If they are present, don’t worry that they will desert the nest. They may fly to a perch to watch you, and you may receive a few scoldings from them, but they will return when you leave the area.
  • Approach the box quietly.
  • Check for ants or other parasites.
  • Make it a habit to check for wasp nests so they can be removed while they are small. Rubbing surface with a bar of soap helps deter wasps from building.
  • Remove and destroy House Sparrow eggs and nest.
  • To prevent premature fledging, do not open the box after 12 days from the time the nestlings hatch.
  • Remove and dispose of the nest in the trash soon after the nestlings have fledged.
  • Keep records of the activity in your box