Swallow Houses

Barn Swallows breed from Alaska across Canada, throughout the United States, and south through central Mexico. With the proliferation of human-provided nesting sites, the North American Barn Swallow population has increased in most places during the 20th century. Numbers are especially up in the central and eastern United States. Barn Swallows show strong fidelity to their natal site, most nesting within 20 miles of their birthplace and some much closer. Members of a pair typically stay together to raise a second brood and return in successive years to the same nest site. If you have the right habitat, barn swallows are easy to attract. A simple nesting perch may be placed under the eaves, inside a garage or barn, or on the side of a building.

Tree Swallows are found all across the continental United States and Canada, and in parts of Alaska, as far north as cavities are available, avoiding only the southeastern corner of the U.S. Tree Swallows prefer open habitats, such as the edges of woods, and areas near water, including marshes, shorelines and swamps. Tree Swallows are quite tolerant of humans. Nesting is quite synchronous in Tree Swallows; that is, females tend to begin nesting within a week or 10 days, usually in April, of their neighbors. Tree Swallows nest in natural tree cavities, woodpecker holes and nest boxes. Tree Swallow houses should be placed 5 to 15 feet high on a post or tree in open areas. They should be spaced 30 to 100 feet apart with the entrance hole facing east.

Violet-green Swallows are found from the Rocky Mountains west to the Pacific coast. Their range spans from central Alaska and central Canada south to the Mexico's highlands. Violet-green Swallows prefer open, deciduous, or mixed coniferous-deciduous forests containing ponderosa pine, aspen, willow and spruce trees. In the northern part of its range, this species breeds at lower elevations on the coast and in wooded canyons. In the southern part of their range, they breed at higher elevations (2,000 to 3,000 meters). Violet-green Swallows nest in cliff crevices, natural tree cavities, woodpecker holes, in old nests of Bank Swallows and Cliff Swallows, under the eaves of buildings, and in nest boxes. They can nest in close association with Cliff Swallows, Tree Swallows, White-throated Swifts, and Western Bluebirds. One report documented a pair of Violet-greens assisting a pair of Western Bluebirds in raising young. The swallows guarded the nest and tended the bluebird nestlings, and after the bluebirds fledged, the swallows used the nest site. In the northern portion of their range, pair formation begins in mid-April and breeding begins in late May. In the southern portion, breeding begins in early May. Violet-green Swallow houses should be placed 9 to 15 feet high in open or broken deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forests, wooded canyons, or edges of dense forests.

	Barn Swallow House $27.95			Tree Swallow House $27.95

	Violet-green Swallow House $27.95			Backyard Bird House $32.95

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