Dead Baby Martins 1 Day Old (1 Viewer)

Last year, Martins built a nest under the eaves of my porch. Babies were adorable. This year, they did the same thing. I've been watching them guard their nest for a couple of weeks. However, recently I noticed some unusual activity. Earlier I noticed one parent standing on the edge of the nest and picking at something inside the nest. I thought maybe the eggs had hatched. Later that day, I noticed both parents standing on edge of nest, picking at something. They wouldn't leave even when I got very close, like they were very protective. I knew something was wrong. It wasn't normal behavior. I got my ladder out and looked in. There were 4 new borns, just a day old. And they had ants on them. The babies were dead. It was very sad. I pulled them out and got rid of all the ants. I don't think the parents could tell the babies were dead. I put them back in the nest after killing all the ants, and now the mother is sitting on them again, like nothing happened. How do you tell parents that all their children are dead? I can't bare to watch. What do I do?

Nature can be rough at times. The parents will eventually realize that the babies are dead and will probably abandon the nest. At that time, you might remove what is left of the babies and hopefully the parents will try again. Be careful though if you have used a bug killer spray in the nest.

Hi Lisa and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum :t:

Hi Lisa and a warm welcome from me too.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I hope to hear about all the birds you see when out and about.

Hola Lisa! Welcome to Birdforum :t:

Welcome to BirdForum! I am sure you will find lots to interest you here, and I hope you enjoy your visits. That is a sad event, but all part of nature.

Hi Lisa, welcome to the forum. My brother had that happen with doves last year. Nature can be cruel and sad.