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Mom and Dad are very active around the box this afternoon so I suspect Momma is done laying and is now brooding.
Or getting ready to lay egg #5. Most years I have had 5 in each clutch of eggs. This is the first year that I have gone from 5 to 4 on the second brood.
David
Stafford, VANature has a way of caring for the young ones. If this one has made it to the brush and can hold out there until its wings strengthen a bit it will be okay. The parents (and it sounds like the siblings) will take care of it.
Be concerned but try not to get overwrought. You can only provide the nestbox and mealworms(if you do feed). Everything else is part of Nature’s path. Be happy for the fledglings that they have made it this far. Time is on their side.
David
Stafford, VAThe 4th egg hatched today. All is well. Parents are feeding the little ones but I haven’t been out to get photos today.
David
Stafford, VATammy, that’s what I think also. Not seeing what is actually in the nest, I would remove it just to be on the safe side. I would also continue to actively monitor this nestbox.
David
Stafford, VAI decided to walk out to the nest box to see how the eggs were doing and found this!!!
This was around 9:00 AM this morning. 3 of the 4 eggs hatched the day before I expected them. Since I am a bit more mobile I will check on them this afternoon to see about the 4th egg.
David
Stafford, VANow, after reading further through the identification of eggs information I found the following: “Note: A Cowbird egg looks similar to a House Sparrow egg, but House Sparrows take over the whole nest, and often remove another bird’s eggs from a nest they usurp. Cowbird eggs are larger than House Sparrow eggs, and tend to be more rounded.” Here is the photo from that article.
David
Stafford, VARon, that egg is listed in the caption of the photo as a house sparrow (HOSP) egg and should definitely be removed and properly disposed of (terrible grammar). Here is the lonk for the site if you would like further information. Hope this helps.
http://www.sialis.org/eggcompare.html
David
Stafford, VABob your houses sound good and should attract the bluebirds. I do agree that the west facing one should be turned to the SE if possible. How close are the nestboxes to trees or shrubs that might be protected resting spots for the young as they fledge? 50 – 60 ft would be good. Not too close for predators to jump to the nestbox and a protected spot where the parent birds can keep an eye on the box while they are off the nest.
David
Stafford, VACongratulations on your “bird house forest”. It is so good to see someone having this kind of success.
David
Stafford, VAI’m with Nicole. I saw 3 of the fleglings about a week after they fledged but they have not beem back to the box since. I have seen at least 1 of them on a power line across the street in the morning and another flying from tree to tree in the back yard but none near the nestbox.
David
Stafford, VASounds like she is on the way to a hatching about June 20th. Be careful not to shake the box when you put up the heat shield. Good luck
David
Stafford, VAAs the others have said, it is very hard to deal with nature in the wild. I agree that the initial pierced eggs sound like a House Wren I had that experience twice last year and saw it once. The second egg removal sounds like the new male might have done it. I also had that happen last year after the male lost his first female. I never saw them removing the 4 eggs but they were gone and she started laying a new brood. That was the one the wren got. I took the box down, cleaned it out and put it aside until this spring. I didn’t have this forum and the information about the wren guard last year that I could have used to keep the box up.
David
Stafford, VA
