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Nesting pair laid eggs, at least 4. Checked box nesting box yesterday and only one remained.
Do I leave the egg? Remove it?
Will they try again?
Assuming cowbird took eggs but do’nt know.
First time Bluebirder.
Sorry to hear, Cardon. First things first: Leave the egg. Until such time as there is objective evidence that the nest is abandoned, you actually are not allowed to remove it. Also, they may press on and incubate the lone egg. Second, you apparently have a predator problem (house sparrow HOSP, house wren HOWR, squirrel, snake, etc.). The question is: Is your nest box protected against such things (i.e. baffle, predator guard on the entry hole, sparrow spooker, wren guard, etc.?) Easiest thing might be for you to post a picture of your set up. Maybe we can help you diagnose. Additionally, I feel it always helps to carefully observe, inventory, and catalog what you are up against on you property. What predators do you have? What challenges do you face? Do you have snakes, raccoons, and house wrens?? If so, take the necessary precautionary measures for your blues There is a wealth of information at http://www.sialis.org/
It is a great place to start!Randy
Bedford, New HampshireDitto Randy! I’ve dealt with so many predators my nest box looks ridiculous but it’s paid off immensely. Best of luck!
Attaching links for pictures.
Have not seen a HOWR around my backyard ever. Hole to small for squirrel. More than likely HOSP, we have a sizable population. Have had to remove them from my Martin house on many an occasion.
Haven’t seen the female near the house last 2 days, but it doesn’t mean she abandoned it. How long should I wait?
Repeating sparrow trap on order, sparrow spooker being built today.
think they the pair will come back and try again?
Despite what I have read mine have nested again after predation but I have always changed the box location until this year. Mine nested in the same box after probable HOWR attack. They had a successful second nest and are on their 3rd. Now with wren guard, sparrow spooker, and Krueger snake trap. And one angry HOA. LOL.
Cardon, you can dot the egg with a sharpie and see if it gets rotated. After 24 hours with no action, you can remove it along with the nest. I wish I could see the images.
Lisa, who cares about the HOA? lol
Gin
Atlanta, GAThanks Gin. I did snap a photo yesterday and was going to compare today. Wasn’t sure I could dot the egg.
I saw the female fly up to the nest box yesterday but then fly away. Will keep you posted.Trying yet again for images. Have added a sparrow spooker, but that’s not in the image.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zw30zk915nxxtm8/Nextingbox_Closeup.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7n6p4l7tpjsesnv/Nestingbox_area.jpg?dl=0
Whatever you do, please don’t remove the contents of the box while she is still interested. It’s cruel when people do that.
You can dot that egg! Just take a sharpie out there and make a little dot. I would come do it for you but I’m kind of busy this week. :-)
You have a nice big area for your box but you would be better off with a wobbling stovepipe baffle instead of the Noel guard. Just be sure the baffle is sized for raccoons, at least 8″ in diameter.
Gin
Atlanta, GAGin, speaking of not caring about the HOA! I just met the nicest young guy who lives two doors down outside of my back golf course fence. He noticed my birdhouse and told me he was so thrilled because he sees the babies in his yard every day and had never seen bluebirds before. I apologized for the crazy look of the house and he told me how much pleasure he and his kids were getting from seeing all the blues.
So take that HOA! It warmed my heart to help those birds into the world!Lord yes, Tammy!!! They decided that the idiots of the architectural committee had to approve all birdhouses! I threatened them with the Migratory Bird Treaty and had all kinds of people wanting to contribute to my defense fund.
They backed off really quickly.
They stated that they wanted to be sure there were no “tacky or multifamily” bird houses up.
I wish you could see how tacky mine is with Kreuger guard, wren guard, and sparrow spooker. And now heat shield!
I was really touched at the number of people who came to my defense on the Nextdoor.com site.
It’s a lot of work and everyone seems to enjoy seeing the bluebirds in the neighborhood!Wow. Great how you stood up to them. I have Martins and I hatE to say it but I can see how they’d want to make a rul about no multi family bird houses. Martins can be really noisy and some people have several poles. But how can little single family boxes hurt anything! Did you have people support you that are in your neighborhood or is that just an online site from people from all over?
Tammy
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