You are sure it is a Bluebird egg? Is the nesting material all of the pretty much the same material (grass, pine needles, etc.)?
Dean

Yes Dean, it is a bluebird egg. the typical pale blue.

Now they have built the nest HIGHER, and there isn't a 2nd egg ... :(

Why would they stop laying again? I would think they'd line the nest the way they want it and then lay. As of today, the one egg is still in the nest; buried.

Not sure what to think Tim, that is odd. I think I would leave things be and see what happens. Hopefully with the nest on bottom and them building on the top it doesn't make the eggs/nestlings too close to the hole but I don't think I would mess with anything else just yet to make sure it doesn't interfer with what they are doing. Good luck!

donna

Donna,

That's kinda my worry too. Indeed, I checked it today and it IS closer to the hole!

Don't think it'll get much taller though. I imagine they'll line it next.

That rogue swallow has been inside the old bluebird box! I really don't want 2 swallow pairs nesting next to each other! He doesn't seem to have a mate though...

Tim last year I had a lone swallow hanging around a paired set of nestboxes that I had one nestbox claimed by swallows already. They had eggs in one box and the lone one kept hanging out by the other one. That TRES eventually did find a mate and they did go on and nest 35 feet away from the other swallow. Apparently TRES will let young from the previous year nest near them, which is what I am assuming happened here. Either that or they just don't see a threat to a lone TRES, not sure really but it did happen here last year so I wouldn't be suprised if it happened by you too. Luckily when the Blues finally showed up last year I did have one open nestbox left for them which they chose. This year however the Blues got here first and got first pickins on the nestboxes.

Good luck to you and your Blues, hope they get down to business and can finish out the nesting! I have eggs due to hatch next week. We have had lots of freezing temps and snow even during egg laying and incubation but I am hopeful they will all hatch!

Donna

Donna, where are you located?

I'm in N.E. Ohio, and it was around 80 on Friday. It's windy, and the temp. plummeted to 40!

Some areas will have snow! Our temps. tomorrow are gonna struggle to get past the mid 40's. The TRES are gone. No eggs from them. Completed nests it looks like.

The blue's nest looks neater. I'm sure the Mrs. has been around, despite the weather. My eggs would have hatched this week. Think of the catastrophe that might have happened! Losing those eggs wasn't the worst thing to happen after all. Maybe this'll give any nestlings that hatch in May a good chance!

The blues are ignoring the spooker even though there's no eggs. I've only found rips in the mylar where they've been yanking on it. They do that when they perch on the box roof.

Wish this cold would go away for GOOD!

~Tim~

Tim, I am in Central WI. We've had plenty of 40 degree days during incubation and 20 degree nights. Blues eggs are due to hatch tomorrow (day 14), we will see what happens with all that cold weather we had. Temps are supposed to be in the 60's today/tomorrow and in the 50's the rest of the week. Supposed to freeze again at night later this week. Hopefully momma can keep the hatchlings warm enough, she has six eggs!

Donna

Donna, you lucky lady! Six eggs?? Awesome! The most my blues have ever layed is 5. I've had up to 6-7 Tree Swallow eggs in one nest though!

It has not snowed here at all so far! Thank god!!! In fact, the sun has peaked out of the hazy sky throughout the day. But the wind has been awful! 40-50 mph gusts! The streamers on my spooker have been clearly pecked at by the blues! Supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow with rain possible. But the entire week in WHOLE is under par! Only 60 degree day is Wednesday. We had 70's and 80's back in March! I guess this is the payback. Watching out for Hummingbirds too, but had to take the feeders down because of the cold and the wind!

The TRES nesting next to my blues layed the 1st egg today! So they've been around too. Waiting for the new bluebird clutch to be started! I will replace the spooker's streamers once the wind dies down. They are nub-ish now. The blues have had quite a time, plus they were ones used from last year.

Warm wishes!

Tim, as of yesterday five of the six eggs have hatched! Have to check later today to see if the other one hatched or not. This is my second time with six Blues eggs. Last year this same female laid six, all hatched and fledged. I have also had a TRES once that laid seven eggs, all hatched and fledged. Our weather is still kinda wacky too. I hope now that they have hatched they can stay warm enough. Today is supposed to be in the 60's but by Saturday they are saying highs only around 45! They are in a Gilwood box too so a bigger opening....ugh!!

Congrats on the first TRES egg..mine don't have any yet. I do have six TRES nests started or completed now though and three five more pairs claiming boxes. I have 11 nestboxes on my property and 7 at a park near our home.

Donna

Congrats on the hatching Donna! My bluebirds had several strange nest attempts abandoned with low egg counts last season, and they kept going back and forth between boxes!
Their final attempt was successful with 3 nestlings who (to what I can remember) were all raised by the Male ALONE even though I'm pretty sure the female was alive and well.

The forecast has improved. No snow last two days like they said. All sunshine! But the wind was yet again bad today. My baffles are hitting against the poles. Should I be concerned?? I know too much shaking can make eggs go bad. You can't actually notice it until you're right up to the box. There's no sway.

Mrs Blue is back at it!! New egg layed today! Replaced the spooker's streamers. with at least 2 weeks for the weather to break and eggs to hatch, I'm hoping this attempt ends successfully! Supposed to be around 62 and sunny tomorrow! Best day of the week, it looks like. Saturday is nasty looking so far! 40 and rain! UGH! But more sun in the forecast. I swear, they change it every 2 seconds though!!

Yeah..our forcast for the weekend changed now too but for the better! Temps are supposed to stay pretty much in the upper 50's for the rest of the week and the weekend. Raining today but then supposed to be sunny. Yeah!

The sixth egg did hatch as far as I can see...just a jumble of naked bodies. LOL!

Hopefully your Blues can stay focused and have a successful nesting for you!

Donna

Glad to hear the sixth egg hatched! You're so lucky!

Second egg is in today and the streamers have not been yanked on.

We got what looks like a couple poor weather days (tomorrow and Saturday) and then 60 and 70 degree models are popping up for next week!

Do you feed hummingbirds Donna? I do, had to take the feeders down for a few days because of the extreme wind we had.

Looking out for them and Purple Martins!

To ohsoblue77, did your one pair of blues nest in two boxes? I noticed that you said your bluebirds went back and forth between boxes. I have 4 eggs in the nest, haven't seen any activity for over a week. Have another box with a bluebird nest not too far from the other one. No eggs yet. Could these be the same bluebirds and they are using two boxes. I only noticed the female in the box a few times after she laid the eggs. I marked the eggs and they have not changed. Supposed to hatch in a few days. Don't understand what happened unless they made another nest in the other box. Any answers?

Yes Tim, I so feed the hummers. They haven't returned to WI yet though.

sagrinin....possibly something happened to the first female that laid the eggs and a new female showed up and is now in the other nestbox. Or for some unknown reason she abandoned the first nest and now started a new one. Have you tried putting a bent piece of grass in the nestbox hole to see if it has been moved. If the female would be going into the box the grass would be moved when she did so. Good luck.

Donna

Donna, I marked the eggs on top, and as of yesterday evening, they haven't moved. I did that several days ago. The eggs should be hatching this weekend sometime but I will keep them in the nest another week. I saw a posting where someone's bluebird eggs didn't hatch for 23 days. I also have a lot of mockingbirds around. They can get aggressive sometimes. I will try putting a piece of grass in the nest box too. Thanks for the advice.

sagrinin, I have two pairs of nestboxes spaced as best as possible, and to my knowledge, NEVER had a 2nd pair nest with me. The Tree Swallows usually use the other boxes.

It may very well be and probably is the same pair AND/OR with another female like Donna suggested. I don't know that I had different females last season. All I know is that she'd lay 1-3 eggs then stop and move to the other pair, sometimes incubate after laying in a new nest, then give up and start another nest. This lasted until like June, so here at home I had one successful attempt last season with only 3 babies.

Got my Hummers' feeders up now Donna. But with the weather, I don't know where abouts they are at this point. Haven't seen one yet. Also, I now have 4 bluebird eggs and I was out around dusk and saw the female enter the nestbox. Looks like maybe incubation has started. Might mean no more than 4 eggs :( ...COLD!! tomorrow! 40's and rain!!! DISGUSTING! It was 60 and nice a couple days ago. Next week has 70's, 80's, and thunderstorms! Hope this up and down pattern breaks! I don't want it to turn out like 2 seasons ago..when I had babies starve to death in May because of a sudden cold snap.

~Tim~

Donna, checked the eggs Thursday evening, still hadn't turned. Checked them yesterday afternoon, they were on the ground with holes pecked in them. House wren I guess. Cleaned out the box, put nest back. Eggs were not viable, liquid so I assume the female never sat on them. It had been two weeks since she laid them and I have not seen her or him for over a week.

Ohsoblue77 and Donna, no eggs In the other box yet. Will keep checking. Did I do the right thing putting the original nest back? Possibly same male but different female. Who knows!

Most likely House Wrens. They just got back to Ohio. My boxes are several feet to yards away from brush/wooded areas. This is House Wren habitat. Is there any way you can move them further into the open?

If the nest was soiled, and you have a new female, removing the old nest would be best. With the same pair and no harm to the nest, I would say it would be good to leave it in.

A new female would want her own nest. they're so finicky! She would just build a new nest to her liking.

Good luck from here!

~Tim~

Tim, I do not have a lot of woods near my house or very many bushes. I live on a golf course with the cart path behind a little beyond my yard. I have about an acre which includes front and back. The box the wren got in is not near any bushes, but oak tree branches hang over it and not near the golf course. That box was there when we bought the house and when we cleaned out that nesting box, there was a remnant of a nest, think it was a bluebird nest made of pine needles. There are two eggs in the other nesting box and it is a few feet away from a small dogwood and about 8 feet from another tree and close to the cart path (towards the back of the yard). I thought I read somewhere that the tree branches could help when the little blues are learning to fly. I have one more box on the other side of the yard but more out in the open. I have no takers of that box yet. I will keep checking the nest with the two eggs in it. Hopefully no wren will bother it. I only saw a small brown bird briefly twice. I have I no idea what kind it was. I have a flock of titmouse that come by every morning then they leave. I also have a few mockingbirds that think they own everything. I will remove the old nest and see what happens. I have thought about getting a wren guard, but haven't yet. I am afraid it will drive away the blues.