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That’s tricky. Could you make a nest for that box and put the egg in it? And then wait to see where she lays the second egg? Just put some dried grass in it and set the egg on top. I like David’s idea of moving the egg but maybe just wait a day to see where she lays the next egg.??? I think you can’t go wrong with whatever you decide. You could always move the egg back if she keeps laying in the box without a nest.
Tammy
Congrats. Exciting! That’s normal for me in NW Ohio. I have 5 eleven day old babies in my nestbox in the backyard.
Tammy
I agree with David. We don’t have nest cams so there’s no way of knowing for us but from what I understand the female makes the nest cup. So that is unusual.
There are females that are brighter than others but I trust your observation on that.Tammy
The bluebirds are committed to that nest. So if you follow the suggestions on clearance and flap length to give them they’ll have no problem.
BUT unfortunately the House Wren knows where that box is now and unfortunately they’ll probably keep piercing in the eggs. You can try it but people normally don’t have luck after the fact.
The Wren guard keeps a Wren from finding the cavity hole initially.
So it’s hard to know whether to let a Wren nest or not allow then to nest. Either way, they might destroy eggs.Tammy
Hey BlueDaBaDee. You know not do morning nest checks during the laying time right? Wait until the afternoon to do them. After they are finished laying you can check any time.
Tammy
(@ David) Bummer!!! I think that it is a good possibility that something happened to that particular female bluebird and the male got another mate.
(@ Tim C) I wouldn’t count on E-bird numbers to be accurate for bluebird nesting. Because most backyard bluebird landlords don’t report to E-bird. I’m out of town now but had a complete nest with 5 eggs by April 6th and I’m right on the Ohio, Michigan border. They started building probably 3 weeks before that date. I also have see several active nests on the trail already and probably most with eggs.Tammy
They have no need to go into a box once the nest is constructed. They will wait until she is going to lay an egg.
And … Have you checked? They are sneaky little things and this year I didn’t even know I had a complete nest and when I finally remembered to check I had 5 eggs.
As David said, it takes them forever on the first nest of the season to get going. They’ll have 2-3 and sometimes 4 nests every season.Tammy
Welcome. Another thing you might need to do if you live in the South is electrify your box right at the bottom. Those rat snakes can get by even cylinder predator guards where rat snakes are super long. Up here in the North it isn’t a problem. I know this from Purple Martin groups I’m on. The Noel guard and extended hole doesn’t really help much at all. But as others have said your cylinder guard should help.
Concerning one of your nests… Babies aren’t ready to fledge at 14 days. And usually do so only if something makes them fledge. They usually can’t fly at that age. They can fly around from spot to spot on the ground but can’t fly up into a tree. But if predators didn’t get them they might have made it. Could your dates me wrong?Tammy
Wrens scare me more than house sparrows. Yes they are native but they are very destructive. And they often make several dummy nests, evicting other birds eggs and nestlings.
I always discourage them from nesting but if you’re in a heavily treed area and have a lot of wrens, like my daughter, that might not be possible.
Also you could put up a Wren guard for your bluebirds AFTER the first egg is laid.Tammy
Sometimes the fledglings follow the parents around and sometimes they do their own thing. They are still awful flyers and often can’t even land where they want to.
Usually if parents have five fledglings, those fledglings can be in 5 different trees. So the parents are trying to keep track of them and feed them. It’s a difficult job.
There’s no parking the fledglings in one tree and hoping they stay.
And the fledglings are still terrible flyers and have a hard time landing where they want to.Tammy
You are probably the most observant bluebirder I’ve ever met. LOL.
I think you can take a peek inside the box now if that’s what you’re observing.Tammy
Cool! They do recognize danger. Those little fledglings are so susceptible to cats attacks, hawk attacks etc because they can’t fly well at all. They can’t land well either. They might stay around your house for a week and they may take them away and teach them to eat. Sometimes I see them again after that.
Tammy
Congrats. It’s hard to catch sometimes!!!
It isn’t the norm for them to follow each other out, for one to fledge immediately after the other. I’ve seen ducks do it but not other cavity birds. But sometimes it’s 10 minutes apart but it could be hours.
The others will probably fledge today but there might be one that fledges tomorrow. I wouldn’t check the box until Saturday When you do open it do it slowly and make a quick peek.Tammy
