Once,again thanks for your thoughts. Here is the latest. As I mentioned, two eggs were tossed from the nest. I returned one. I know everyone thought a wren was the culprit. And maybe that’s so. But there has been absolutely no sign of one. My experience has always been, they toss and then they claim the box.
Instead, the widowed female laid another egg and is incubating the clutch despite being alone. I’d like to help her out with mealworms. However, for the first time ever, the robins only come to the dish. I shoo them away to no avail. And this female has no clue about the worms. My whistle and the white dish mean nothing to her. I’m not sure how to make her aware without the robins usurping the action. Any suggestions? (I think the robins have taken up the nest boxes as viewing sites because I have no tree swallows who I’m sure would not have tolerated the robins’ presence.)
This is a season like no other.