> Has anyone else experienced finding a swallow that couldn't seem to know 
> how to get out. It was in a Peterson bluebird box.

Lee, 

Tree swallows dying in boxes is apparently a common problem and there seem
to be a number of theories about it.  One is that the inside of the box may
be too smooth, which can make it difficult for the tree swallows to climb
out (especially the fledglings). You can roughen them up if you think this
might be the problem.

Another possibility (or it could be a combination of the two) is that the
swallow arrived on the nesting grounds so weak and exhausted from migration
that it either couldn't get out of the box once it got in, or it was just
too weak to survive and chose the box (a dark quiet place) to go to die.

There are a number of posts on the topic here:
http://www.bestofbbml.audubon-omaha.org/swallow5.htm

Congrats on your bluebirds!  By the way, are you familiar with the
Bluebird-L listserv? 
http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/listserv.htm	


Best,
Miriam Lawrence
Monkton Ridge