When will the swallows leave!?

We've had four broods and the last ones are now flying around and returning to the nest at night. Yes, they make a mess but it is soon cleared up/cleaned off. I chatter to the babies when I'm in the stables and it's nice watching them grow up.

I love them and look forward to seeing them next year.
 
We had them for years in my boy's stable and even though they made a mess I loved them being there. They've not been back for about 3 summers now, I'm a bit sad about it. The nest is still there and I keep hoping it will be filled every year but no.

I assume the pair who built are no longer around. Does anyone know if another pair would use it or should I take it down so a new pair can build their own nest?
 
We had a nest right above our house front door this year which made for a very messy doorstep! Only had 1 lot of chicks and they have moved on now but still a fair few flying around up here still.
 
we still have 2 nests :)

the poo situation does drive me a bit bonkers and they have got me a few times!!!! however they do a great job of eating the bugs and are such happy little chaps they are forgiven!

we had several nests to start with over the stables and wash box,and 2 of those have raised 2 broods :) there could well be more in the garage too but i dont go in there so not sure.
 
I'm in Scotland and they've started congregating in huge numbers already so it won't be long up here. There's still plenty of midges though its cold overnight with regular frosts. I am always sorry to see them go (I have them in the stables along with a colony of sparrows plus we had two broods of blackbirds in there-lots of poop!) but always love seeing the geese in the Autumn.
 
I have two nests in my stable and the birds are still using it. I fashioned a "poop shelf" from cardboard, it's ingenious, basically some Stiff cardboard placed on the beam below the nest, it catches the poop a treat, end of summer I will remove the cardboard and bin, job done, happy swallows, happy me. I was able to squeeze one side of the cardboard under the cross beam and then I pushed a long piece of flat plastic in under to support the length of the cardboard to stop the poop making it droop.

I'll take a pic later as can't explain very well, hope it will make the nest destroyers take a more positive route to solving the problem. I too hate the poo but love love love the little birds twittering and swooping.
 
We spend all winter clearing up horse poo. Is clearing up a bit of bird poo for a few weeks in the summer too much of an ask?
 
Pearlsasinger said:
We have a 2nd nest with youngsters in, in our stable. So we are hoping that they are not planning to leave for a few weeks.
The first pair raised 4 chicks very succesfully, at least a month ago. There are still quite a lot flying around here.
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A bit of good news as an update!
Yesterday we saw two swallow chicks sitting on a beam in our stables and the parents flying in and out, so they haven't left without them:D
Coincidentally, I was talking to a neighbour who also has just seen a 2nd nest fledge and was most relieved, as she, too, had been concerned that the parents might have to abandon the nest before the chicks were ready.
We are obviously all just big softies here! :D:D
 
I think we have one chick left behind .
They where here on Saturday three big chicks and and two parents ,the rest left in two lots we had over 150.
This morning one chick no others about .
Nothing I can do if it has got left .
 
I currently have an abandoned swallow chick sat on my shoulder! They were down to one parent who left three in the nest, two died and I managed to hand rear the third. I'm hoping it manages to fledge soon or else I'll be stuck with it until next spring!
 
Mine left the weekend before last.

I thought they had only lost two babies since they had arrived but whilst I was clearing them out I found about 5 in total :( I think two of them had been abandoned as my land owners said they put two back in the nests the weekend before last so they must have tried to go when mum and dad did. Sad but I reckon they had 2 successful broods and with at least 8 occupied nests I think that's quite enough re-population!
 
touchstone said:
I currently have an abandoned swallow chick sat on my shoulder! They were down to one parent who left three in the nest, two died and I managed to hand rear the third. I'm hoping it manages to fledge soon or else I'll be stuck with it until next spring!
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What do you feed them ?
 
I'll have to get my kids to upload a pic I'm rubbish with technology (old fart I'm afraid) It's currently being fed a combination of minced meat, an insectivore bird food and bluebottle casters or crickets (gross!)
 
I still have a few here I only had one casualty this year one baby drowned in one of the water buckets:(, I think they are amazing little birds they all sit in a line on the beams in my stable and watch me muck out every morning.
 
Think that ours have all gone now. OH moved the cctv in the field shelter to focus on one nest, and we had our own swallow watch live! Fascinating stuff.

Looking forward to their return next year.

Love jackdaws, too, but not the damage they cause when building their huge nests in the overhang of my stables, and in the chimney. We blocked off all unwanted entrance routes over the winter (to old nests), and gosh were they cross when they found out. They were strutting about for days swearing crossly at us.
 
Swifts and swallows have gone from here, I guess they have headed down towards the south coast more now. Was still seeing a few sweeping across the fields round here looking for insects but not around buildings/stables so much. House martins are hanging around still :) I do miss seeing the summer visitors about though.

Keep meaning one autumn/winter to get very organised and then make sure I get to see the vast influx of winter migrants - different geese and wading bird species that come here from the north instead to spend winter here on the estuaries etc.

Also I do love the winter thrushes that arrive too :) Fieldfares and redwings. Redwings you can hear after dark at night if you stand somewhere really quiet and you'll hear them going over with a little 'seep' sound as they migrate at night - usually around Halloween/Bonfire Night.
 
We raised a baby bird that fell out of its nest and couldn't be returned and we fed it cat food, it soon learnt it was yummy and it used to eat itself out of a bowl! Once it could fly it was released.
 
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