Moorhens (1 Viewer)

[Annie Dids]

Hi forum newbie here looking for some help, I have had a lone pair of moorhens come to my garden pond, 15ft x 25ft, 5ft deep. they have nested and hatched 4 babies and have been carefully taking care of them for 3 weeks, all have survived. i went to check this morning and the larger adult bird Male or female ?? has disappeared, I assumed they would stay together until the babies fledged. is this normal please..

 

[Kits]

Welcome to Birdforum. I hope you enjoy your visits.

You may find this link interesting.

Common Moorhen - BirdForum Opus

www.birdforum.net

 

[Chris G6 UXU]

Hello Annie and welcome to the forum, from all the Staff, enjoy and all the best.

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello Annie,

welcome to Birdforum!

Male Moorhen are slightly heavier according to literature (Kompendium), so the larger bird in a pair should be the male.

And yes, normally both parents care for their young until they are (almost) fully independent. Three weeks is a bit short for this, but if the youngs look like this https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Teichhuhn_0505275.jpg,
everything is ok.
If thy look younger, than only one parent is enough to take care and feed them, especially because your youngs can feed for themselves at 3 weeks (yes, mum and dad are still the best) and sometimes only one parent feed the young in a second brood.

Where is the second bird? Maybe its just hiding somewhere at the pool. You may well be surprised, how good they can hide even at small pools and small ditches of vegetation (This species is normally shy and wary, well hidden. But they are far less so and often seen in the open in urban settings. I sometimes think of two species. )
But as said, if the second bird has left your pool, then the other Moorhen can succesful raise the youngs, until they are fully independent.

Welcome to Birdforum again!

 

[Fritz73]

Hola! Welcome to Birdforum