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How to Attract Swallows

Providing a suitable environment with foliage and nesting material will help attract swallow species, such as the tree swallow and the purple martin, to your backyard. If you have a barn, you can provide nesting facilities for barn swallows. The swallow is an agile flyer and spends most of its time in the air catching flying insects. This bird is known for its musical voice, often be heard in the early morning. It can be found in the Northern Hemisphere between January and September. It migrates South for the winter in large flocks.

Things You'll Need

Trees
Reeds
Bird boxes
Bird Table
Feathers
Seeds
Berries

Instructions

- 1
  Create a suitable habitat for the swallows in your backyard or on your grounds. Swallows prefer open spaces with only a scattering of trees. Provide a water source, such as a pond to attract insects swallows feed on. Avoid planting heavily around the pond as this will give predators places to hide and pounce upon the swallows that come to the water. Plant reeds around the edges of the pond; swallows will land on them.
- 2
  Encourage swallows to nest by fitting bird boxes high up in trees to attract purple martins and tree swallows. In a barn, fit bird boxes where the inside walls meet the roof.
- 3
  Place feathers on an elevated bird table to allow the swallows to collect them without being in danger of predators. Swallow will use feathers as lining material for their nests.
- 4
  Provide seeds and berries for the swallows to eat in the months of early Spring. This is the time of year when swallows first migrate North, although at this time of year the availability of insects is low, due to low temperatures.

Animals & Science