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Swallows nest fell and now the mum can’t get to her babies

Charlgrace91
06/08/2019 21:01

We’ve had a swallows nest right in the corner of our house for the last 2 years and today it fell and the three chicks were okay. My neighbour popped them in our lavender bush as they couldn’t fly. The mother and I’m surmising father we’re flying around frantically. One unfortunately got attacked and was laying dead but the other two I found standing on top of the bush trying to attract the attention of their mother. 

We decided to make a bird house to keep them both in and we popped all of their broken bits of the nest in there with them. We couldn’t put it where the nest originally was as it’s too high for us to reach, but popped it on the garage just below it to the side but the chicks keep chirping and the mother and father keep flying around but they don’t seem to know where they are.

how do I help them ? The bird box has a hole and the chicks do poke out.

thanks 

  • 06/08/2019 21:39
    They are quite big for chicks, they have been up in their nest for quite a few weeks now but just struggle to fly. The house isn’t ground level it’s still risen right up and we’ve popped some seeds in there and some insects too for them to eat. Shall I just see how they are in the morning?
  • 06/08/2019 23:20
    sounds like House Martins, unfortunately the expanding young sometimes push the nest off the wall - Sad to witness but its natural selection, the parents should have built a better nest and their failure means their genes don't get passed on.

    I doubt you can help them, seeds are no use to them and insects need to be pushed into their mouths every 5 or 6 minutes from dawn till dusk - and when they start to fly you will need to follow them into the air and feed them for the next 5 or 6 days till they develop the skills to catch their own.

    It would be wonderful if your efforts, re the bird box, worked, is the hole big enough for the adults to get in? It is their only faint chance, I would be very surprised if the adults went near it - but its worth a go.

    best of luck but don't get your hopes up to much - loving nature can be very heartbreaking at times.
  • 07/08/2019 08:11
    I’ll have a little look at sanctuaries now and get them some help. Thanks so much everyone! Really appreciate it
  • 07/08/2019 10:49
    Well good news guys!! Just as I was going to take the box down the mother come down and fed one of the chicks who was poking out of the hole. I could only hear the one chick so I thought it’s best changing the box for a better one as it only had a tiny hole and as we took it down and dismantled it, one of the chicks had sadly died. So we popped the other chick in the new house and popped it back where the old house was and I’ve been watching him and his mother now for about an hour and she’s feeding him and they all seem settled.

    Thanks for all your advice again. Hopefully he’s ready to flee the nest soon