The importance of finding a good site for your project:
Due to chronic shortages of cavities Tree Swallows will try to nest in boxes
put in dangerous places, where they face predation or nest competition.  
You don't want to attract them to sites like that!  You want to give them a
project where they can reproduce unharmed, so finding the right site is
essential.  You know their basic requirements.  Now you can start searching
for a project site that meets their needs.

Try to find sites that:
  • Are near a good Tree Swallow food supply, i.e., a buggy wetland.
  • Are wide open for easy swallow flight and easy viewing for you.
  • Are large enough to accommodate your boxes
  • Allow box placement that minimizes competition from other species.
  • Allow box placement away from predator travel lanes.
  • Are at a convenient distance from your home.

The best sites are large open fields in rural areas.  Fields near wetlands are
preferred, but not mandatory.  Fields must be large enough so swallow
boxes can be clustered out in the middle, at least several hundred feet
away from houses, barns, woods, hedgerows, and water edges (see below).
It might seem that putting swallow boxes way out in the open makes them
vulnerable, but the opposite is true.  Most songbirds hide in dense
vegetation when danger approaches, but not Tree Swallows.  They rely on
their flying ability to get away.  Nest sites that are well out in the open allow
the swallows to spot incoming danger at a distance.  Plus the worst predators
of Tree Swallow nests hunt along edges of waterways, shores, woods and
hedgerows, and their worst cavity competitors prefer boxes located near
human dwellings or in shrubby areas.  So, to repeat, look for large open fields
far from buildings when scouting for potential project sites.  Avoid fields
used by livestock and ones that get treated with pesticides or herbicides.



















Our 10 box project is in the middle of the field below, near the marshes and
streams of the Braddock Bay Fish and Wildlife Management Area of upstate
New York.  The boxes visible show the 100 foot Tree Swallow box spacing.












Get permission:
You may be lucky and have a great location on your own property.  If you
don't you'll need to get permission to erect boxes.  Often, the best potential
locations are on public lands overseen by government natural resource
personnel, or on land managed by private conservation or sporting groups.  
These folks may be happy to let you put nest boxes up.  Private landowners,
too, may agree to let you use their land, and may help if invited.  In every
case you must ask, so be prepared to explain what you intend to do and why.









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Learn About Birds at Tree Swallow Nest Box Projects
Finding a Good Site
Lake
Marsh
Pond
Swallow Box Grid
Open Field
Shrubs
Farm
Woods
Woods
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