no conifer holds it needles forever ... most browning and falling off in 1 to 3 years .. interior needles are the oldest.. its entirely normal .... unless you give us a pic and show us otherwise ... ken

get rid of it.. its not a question of whether it will live.. or recover its a question of how long it is going to be.. before it looks good again.. and that could be 3 to 5 years.. for a TREE that you can replace for under 10 bucks ... and do mind.. ITS A TREE.. otherwise known as a conifer.. and its root system.. should be as big.. if not double.. the size of what you see above.. and when you wrap your head around that.. and look at the pot its in.. you should be able to fully understand.. what its root problem is [pun intended] .... but for bonsai ... trees do not have a long life potential in pots... divest for sure .. ken

I haven't seen a parent on the nest in the last 2 or 3 days, but it may be that the parents are being extra careful not to reveal the location of the nest. Yesterday I was watching the tree from about 40-50 feet away, and I saw a mourning dove sitting at the top of my neighbor's roof not far from the nest. After about 10 minutes, I thought maybe the dove was waiting for me to go away. So I walked around the far side of my house, and from my back deck, I could see that same place on my neighbor's roof -- and no dove. I got down off the deck and started walking toward the nest on the near side, and I heard that flying-up sound that mourning doves make, from the direction of the nest. And this morning I saw a pair of mourning doves loitering in my driveway in front of the garage, about 35 feet from the nest. That's as close as I have been able to confirm that the parents are still visiting the nest. I would like better assurance, since mourning doves are commonly in the area to visit under my bird feeders. I cringe to think that they are abandoned, cold, hungry, and dehydrated. But I also hestitate to interfere. - Jim

I've been having lots of fun watching the starlings who have a nest in the tree right off my deck. They are wonderful mimics. One sits there and does a perfect robin. I thought I WAS hearing a robin till I really started watching him closely. He has such a wide range of sounds! Also went to the post office today and there is a nest with big fat baby robins outside the front door. They are so darn cute.