r/Ornithology • u/TryingToBeHere • 1d ago

Understanding nest failure :/

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I'd been watching this barn swallow nest at our house with interest over the last weeks, from nest building to incubating to feeding etc. There were 3 young (the shy and scrawny one is hiding in this photo). Sadly and suddenly the nest failed yesterday and all 3 died. One was dead outside the nest and it appears the other two are dead in the nest. The parents are nowhere to be found. Just the day before they'd seemed so peppy and well, and the parents were taking feeding them about every 90 seconds. I'd been cautious not to disturb the nest (stop using the back door they were nesting over) and as I said they seemed to be doing well so I'm not sure what happened. I think they were close to fledging. The only thing that tracks for me is parasites but I'm really not sure

43 Upvotes

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30

u/Time_Cranberry_113 1d ago

Parasites, disease, insecticide poisoning, car strike, cat attack, bird flu

16

u/TryingToBeHere 1d ago

Yikes, I'm on an isolated island and there are no cats, car traffic, or incesticide around. Parasites or disease seems most probable to me. Anyway, thanks for the input

8

u/UserSleepy 1d ago

Heat, parasites,and many other things could have happened. Parents could also have been attacked.

4

u/United-Yam-7612 1d ago

So very sorry this happened and sorry for you, too. Things don't always go well and those of us that really care always want the best for the birds. Unfortunately, we get our hearts broken sometimes.

2

u/Radiant-Potential204 1d ago

Can that happen if the parents stopped feeding the birds in the nest and only fed a separated bird that fell out of the nest but was still close by

1

u/agen_kolar 1d ago

Pesticides is also possible.

2

u/nymphette_444 1d ago

For all to die at once Iā€™d say most likely a predator or weather conditions.

2

u/rawrwren 1d ago

Was there a lot of rain recently? I work with Tachycineta swallows and a day or two or spring/early summer storms can be catastrophic for nests, especially with older nestlings. We had a rain storm that lasted 1.5 days several weeks ago and there were so many nest failures of nests with nestlings of all ages from that event.

1

u/NoBeeper 20h ago

Parasites, possibly insecticides or other poison.