# What are these tiny shelters along the side of the highway? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2026, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-tiny-shelters-along-the-side-of-the-highway/1032127 "2026-08-04T00:00:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-tiny-shelters-along-the-side-of-the-highway/1032127/1 "2026-08-04T00:00:30Z")
While driving NE on Highway 401 between Windsor and London, Ontario a couple weeks ago, I would notice a tiny shelter along the side of the highway about every couple of miles. At least I think it’s a shelter? Sometimes there would be two or three of them right next to each other. Are they for some kind of animal? I found one in street view: [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55441293764_ec55bacda2_c.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55441293764_ec55bacda2_c.jpg) [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55441516775_a864e1a046_c.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55441516775_a864e1a046_c.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-tiny-shelters-along-the-side-of-the-highway/1032127/2 "2026-08-04T00:03:56Z")
Artificial habitats for barn swallows. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-tiny-shelters-along-the-side-of-the-highway/1032127/3 "2026-08-04T00:04:35Z")
[CBC article](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/barn-swallows-habitats-highway-1.3566966) [PDF](https://files.ontario.ca/creatingbarsnestinghabitatenfinal17mar09_0.pdf) with more pictures and explanations. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-tiny-shelters-along-the-side-of-the-highway/1032127/4 "2026-08-04T00:10:17Z")
Three minutes for the win! Well done. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-tiny-shelters-along-the-side-of-the-highway/1032127/5 "2026-08-04T00:41:08Z")
When I finally get my place I’ll have to build one of those (+ a martin house)… ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-tiny-shelters-along-the-side-of-the-highway/1032127/6 "2026-08-04T09:07:24Z")
Excellent, thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-tiny-shelters-along-the-side-of-the-highway/1032127/7 "2026-08-04T09:14:45Z")
Good explanation, and I’m glad to hear that they are for the barn swallows who have no place else to go. When I read the topic, I thought the shelters might be the phone-booth sized shelters at the end of farm house driveways in Ontario. Those are for kids waiting for the school bus, so they’re out of the wind and the rain and the snow, while they wait for the school bus. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-tiny-shelters-along-the-side-of-the-highway/1032127/8 "2026-08-04T21:58:40Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > barn swallows Where but the Dope, huh? This is truly a great place. And I was gonna guess they were for bulletin boards or maps or such, and just hadn’t been finished. Which feels pretty dumb in retrospect… ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-tiny-shelters-along-the-side-of-the-highway/1032127/9 "2026-08-04T23:13:36Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Good explanation, and I’m glad to hear that they are for the barn swallows who have no place else to go And they say we’re not doing anything about homelessness! ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-tiny-shelters-along-the-side-of-the-highway/1032127/10 "2026-08-22T15:54:35Z")
After reading this thread, I started noticing them along Highway 400 and Highway 11. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-tiny-shelters-along-the-side-of-the-highway/1032127/11 "2026-08-22T16:56:47Z")
They are little free libraries. They look like bird houses at first. Then you notice that they have two floors. They can have anywhere from nothing in them to several dozen books. When the books in your home notice that they haven’t been read in years (and sometimes have never been read), they escape from your shelves and then from your house. They run down the road, carefully hiding themselves behind trees or deep in the grass when any person or vehicle passes. When the book gets to a little free library on the side of the road, they jump into it. There they can stay with other lonely books. You’ll notice that a book flutters its pages as you take it out of the little free library. That’s the book saying goodbye to the friends it’s been with for the past few days, weeks, or months.