Urgent - swallow advice needed please

[Ladywell]

We have had a pair of swallows nesting in a passageway at the side of the kitchen door for 5 years now. Babies hatched about a week ago (I think there are 3). Next door's cat has just caught and killed one of the adults despite our attempts to rescue it.
My questions are:
Will one parent be able to/continue to rear the brood?
If it was the mother who was killed will the male brood the fledglings at night?
Is there anything we can do to help?

To say we are upset is an understatement.

Would love to have soome advice please.

[Dogghound]

Swallows can often have quite a complex social structure which involves a lot of bigamy and rearing of other birds young. Males can sometime re-pair up with new females if their mate dies. Sometimes one male has two females which both contribute to the brood. So its a complex issue in terms of what will the male do. Adoption of other young is usually more common in larger colonies if just one or two scattered nests then this is less likely to occur. Both birds brood the young, although the female tends to do much more incubating and the male more feeding when the chicks are young. As they get older brooding stops, with the female sitting next to the young in the nest and not incubating them and the adults both bring food. They usually have a second brood too so still hope that the male will get another mate.

They will fledge in approximately 12 more days so its really dependent on how well developed they are and how much food the male can provide. The adults usually stop brooding at around 14 days when the young are developed enough. Hopefully in this case the male can balance both feeding and incubation which he should do at night in the absence of the female.

The one thing to help kill the cat

[Ladywell]

Thank you Doghound - I feel a bit better now. The awful thing is that I am looking after the bloody cat as it's owner is in America supporting her daughter who has just lost her 40 year old husband. She would be distraught if I told her (which I won't). I chased after the damn thing but it had gone in through the cat flap and the swallow was dead on the kitchen floor. We don't have anything like the number of swallows round here that we had last year. We used to have 8 nests at our farm - we have two this year.

Thanks again for your help - the remaining parent has been back quite a few times to feed the fledglings. I will look when it goes dusk as, usually, one parent is on the nest and the other one is my washing line (which it out of commission in swallow breeding time)

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by Ladywell

We don't have anything like the number of swallows round here that we had last year. We used to have 8 nests at our farm - we have two this year.

The warm dry spring has not done them many favours A) getting nesting material and B) finding food.

[Ladywell]

Plus they couldn't find mud to rebuild the nests - we had little mud patches in stainless steel trays in the garden for them - was a joy to watch them fetching the mud. Just going out to have a look at the nest now as it is nearly dark.

[rossy]

this makes me sick, reading this about a bird that has flown thousands of miles , only to be killed and by what, true it could have passed away on migration or taken out by a bop, but to me its a waste and a crying shame , i just hope the other parent manages to raise the chicks, keep us informed please, rossy.

[Ladywell]

I totally agree with you Rossy - they are having a difficult enough time as it is.

Well so far so good. Remaining parent was back at the nest after dark last night. Perched by the nest so I am guessing it is probably the male. Has visited to feed them several times today (I don't stand and watch but keep my kitchen door open so I can hear it 'tweeting' its arrival).

We are so upset at what happened and keeping our fingers crossed that the remaining parent manages to rear them.

[Ladywell]

Update - lone parent seems to be working overtime - many more visits to feed babies than previously. He (or she) will be so tired but fingers crossed!!

[nigel_b]

How many chicks?

[Ladywell]

We think there are three - so it is good there are not too many babies! At least it is nice and warm and plenty of flies about - fingers crossed.