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Thanks all so much for your replies. They haven’t come back. I keep watching for them to show up. I’m hoping a new pair will find my nest box and use it, perhaps for a 2nd brood. It’s still early enough in the season.
Philly: Your absolutely right about it being cold here for May. In fact the morning I found the bluebird chicks dead, that night there was a freeze and the temps went down to the lower 30s. And a few days before that we had unseasonably cold windy days. I miss the heck out of the bluebirds right now.
Hi Carol – Yes the mama is still incubating them. But I have also noticed the male seem to sense something amiss with the eggs. He constantly is checking inside the box, more than usual, going in and out even though none of the eggs have hatched. This morning all 5 eggs were still in the nest. Then in this afternoon I saw mama blue take out one of the eggs with her beak as the male watched from on top of the nest box. It appears one of them either broke or cracked open. Obviously there was nothing inside the egg that was viable since she took the egg out with her beak and flew off with it. You could see it was split open. I was thinking she was going to come back and take out the rest of the eggs but she has left the other 4 eggs in the nest and still is incubating them. I’m not sure at this point what to do other then keep a watchful eye on things like their behavior for clues. I’ve been checking the nest at least once daily now. Thankfully this bluebird pair doesn’t seem to mind.
Connie,
Wow bears! We don’t have them in this part of Pennsylvania thankfully. I hope and pray they don’t mess with your bluebirds. From what I have heard they can completely destroy a nest box. It’s good to hear the bluebirds are trying again however. Best of luck this time.Hi Chris,
In the years I have hosted bluebirds I can honestly say I have never been lucky enough to have had more than 5 eggs in a nesting. I think 6 eggs is more the norm for mountain bluebirds which are located out west, although it’s probably not unheard for the eastern bluebirds. Sounds like you have a very fertile female, providing they all hatch. That’s awesome! Congrats!Carol,
So sad to hear this. I tried looking up rehabbers for Missouri and found this page of conservation regional offices https://mdc.mo.gov/contact-engage/regional-offices. However I don’t know whether they are open or not due to the covid-19 outbreak. I’m hoping this info helps some.Connie,
I hope the dees leave your bluebirds alone. I would keep a close eye on the situation. One summer I saw a house wren enter my bluebirds nest box after they has completed a nest. I promptly went out and snuck up on the nest box while he was inside and hissed really loud. Scared the wren pretty good! I never seen him fly out so fast and he never came back that season either. You gotta do what you gotta do to protect those beautiful blues.That’s awesome Rich! Congrats! I think you are right about trimming the bushes back. I’m sure that made it more appealing for the bluebirds since they like open spaces. My bluebirds are still in the process of nest building. I’m hoping by this weekend they’ll start egg laying. We will see.
Wow Rich way to go!! Those Van Ert Traps are great! I caught a HOSP (a male) with mine and promptly disposed of him which allowed the bluebirds to take over my nestbox! I took Carol’s advice about buying a Van Ert Trap so very glad I did. They really do take care of those pesky HOSPs!
