Tree Swallows do not eat seed or crumbs. They don't eat anything off the ground at all. They eat on the wing only...which is why when there are prolonged periods of rain (3+ days) they will either leave or die and their nestlings will die...they simply don't eat anything off the ground. Can you describe the birds exactly. The only time I have seen Tree Swallows on the ground was when they are nestbuilding and are picking up grasses.

Gibby, there are RARE instances of TRES having a 2nd brood. I had a brood of 4 TRES that fledged and within a week or two another nest was started in the SAME box AGAIN wtih 4 eggs! They are now all hatched but still very young. However, I have so many TRES around here (sometimes 4 - 7) in a flock around my boxes. With bluebirds they are more territorial and seem to lay fewer eggs so there are (unfortunately) less of them than TRES. That's why I encourage others to pair their boxes or take them down if all you have is TRES. It's only doing more harm than good and the purpose behind our boxes is to increase bluebird population, Not necessarily TRES. TRES face the same problems but somehow there are many more of them than bluebirds. Yes, you should clean that nest out. With any successful fledge you want to remove an old nest. But TRES are so much messier than the blues and I mix some Clorox with water and spray down the usually-tarry walls. I find this not necessary with the blues. Sorry you missed it! I've never been able to witness TRES fledge. But I have seen blues almost every season take their 1st flight.

When I lived in the Northwest Territories it was really hit and miss for a successful nesting season for tree swallows. If cold, rainy weather persisted for a few days, the birds would abandon their nests to forage further afield for insects. This could happen any time during the season and it was often a little heart wrenching to clean out the nest box in the fall and find five beautifully fledged out young, all dead. The parents were forced to abandon them in search of food. As for their fascination with the chickadee house I cannot offer any explanations or advice. Who knows what goes on in the brains of birds?

I know this isn't a forum about tree swallows, but I know that tree swallows nest in the same area as blue birds. So, does anyone have tree swallows nesting close by? We have a nest that looks like sparrows killed 4 of the babies and one other one is alive but on the ground. It is too young to survive on its own. The parents are usually dive bombing us every time we come by the nest but they are no where to be seen. I cleaned the dead ones out of the birdhouse and put new nesting material in there, then put the live one back in. Still not seeing the parents... Maybe we could sneak it into another family of tree swallows? It looks to be about 5-7 days old. We live in the Vassar, MI area.