Teresa Michelsen asked swallow box recommendations, so I will pass along the
limited amount I know. We have had VG swallows in one of our 2 nestboxes for the
last 3 years, and although the boxes are practically identical, they spurn the
other, so right away there's a mystery. The box they use hangs near the tip of a
young birch on a pole we taped to the trunk of the tree and is about 9" cubic
with a round entry hole of about 1.25" diameter. We had a little dowel perch
under the hole at first but noticed the swallow always landed gripping the edge
of the hole and bracing itself with its tail feathers against the side of the
box below the hole, so actually the little perch was just jabbing the bird at
about vent level. The box faces SW and is fairly exposed. I think a clear line
of approach is important to them. They enter the box at about 20 mph, it looks
like.

Have compared notes with others about their swallow nestboxes and there is no
consensus on which direction they should face. Someone just told me though that
tree and violet-green swallows do not like to nest close to other swallows;
they're not colonial and a nearby neighbor makes them nervous. I don't know how
close is too close.

Chris Maack
Bird Treatment & Learning Center
Anchorage, AK
73201.3124 at compuserve.com