I've read where PM folks have lost many birds during chilly weather even extending into May. If your barnies don't eat scrambled eggs from a platform (you could even add some pulverized egg shells or mealworms) other birds would welcome it. It's worth a try and until the insects become more plentiful, it seems like a good attempt at nutrition. I'm sure you'll get lots of advice from more experienced people. Funny, my mom always had barn swallows nesting in the garage and she always fussed about those "darn birds" that pooped all over her car. LOL Linda

I just stumbled upon this post as I try to prevent the recurring problems from Barn Swallows again this year. Unfortunately, the image is no longer available and I cannot see how you hung the netting. We have a colony of Barn Swallows that roost at our apartment building each year. The landlord hates them, but a former tenant had posted signs everywhere about how it was illegal to remove the nests. It was only through my own research that I realized it was only illegal while eggs or babies were in the nests, and those tenants moved out this winter. In addition to nesting on top of our buildings lights, covered walkways, and eaves, my apartment and the one next door have outdoor entrances from our gorgeous courtyard and patio which have covered stairwells. Each year, the swallows fly through these two stairwells like its the Lincoln Tunnel, dive bombing anyone who tries to walk on the stairs. They build their nests on the outlet boxes or porch lights. The first summer we lived here, I thought it was really neat to have such a close view of their lives, as I would often sit on my steps and could watch the babies as they grew, taking great care to be quiet and non-threatening. However, I also found that my porch steps and exterior wall were covered with bird droppings. They are also very very noisy when there is an entire colony of them outside of your windows. All of the "teenage" birds hang out in one of our courtyard trees outside of my window, which my cat loves but can actually drown out any conversation or television in our living room. Then I experienced what I thought were bed bugs in our house. I had tiny bites head to toe and could constantly feel them crawling on me despite rarely being able to see anything. It got so bad that I was getting the bites infected from itching all the time, and I couldn't sleep because I could feel the bugs crawling on my skin as soon as I tried to relax. I finally captured a few and took them to the University's Department of Entymology, who identified them as bird mites. That experience was HORRIFIC. I was ready to burn our entire building down after reading that the bird mites multiply much more quickly than bed bugs and are nearly impossible to remove. Luckily, the mites died off when the birds finally left for the season, but I can no longer sit outside on my wooden stairs because I fear contracting them again. The next spring, I tried the knock-down method, just on my own stairwell. I would open my screen door 2 inches and use a broom handle to knock down the nests up to 7 times a day. The swallows became very agitated, and and two attacked my daughter's head when she got home from school one of the days. I couldn't sit inside and repeat this process forever, though, and they got their nest up one day while I was off at a 12 hour work shift. The outlet covers they use are too high up to see into, and I knew that some other nests already had eggs, so I couldn't knock it down, more out of compassion than fear of charges. This will be our third summer here. Our elderly landlord has given up trying to prevent them from nesting even in the building entryways. I have removed my porch light cover so there is no solid surface to nest on, but the outlet box cover is too high up and I can't put a ladder on the stairs to reach it. I have considered trying to throw a cotton ball soaked with peppermint oil up there (it has worked in the past for mice and spider problems), or hanging a bunch of cut aluminum as a mobile at the top of the steps (I have heard that the reflections off the metal scare birds off), but I simply can't go through another year of this if those methods don't work. I saw that I could use something to create a 45% slope where the nest to prevent them, but again... getting up there is an issue. I am curious to see how you used the mesh. Could you please share the picture again?

Thanks Lisa, I like the thought of the little birds hanging out with their cousins from the barn nest who are their seniors by approx. a week. I imagine the single parent bird did have his wings full trying to round up his whole brood each night, and probably the first two nights were enough to ensure their safety. He or she is probably in need of a rest at this point. I hope the severe rainstorms did not endanger the swallows. If by "baby" you mean my cat, I did as always and kept her in during the hazardous fledging period, but she's in and out now. She's not having much luck hunting though; only a few rodents turning up on the porch. I think the rain this past week has halted/slowed the activities of all life forms.

I have been walking down to the lake each evening to check on the Tree Swallows. 5 fledged from my box the end of June. I also saw a family of 5 fledglings down the road about a mile. They have all gathered at the lake and are dining on a bumper crop of Dragonflys. There must be at least 50 of them so they had a good year. I know they will be leaving soon :( God keep them safe.