Last week there were 5 new bluebirds in the box. When they were 4 days old the female disappeared. She did not come to the mealworm feeder in late afternoon. I put mealworms out and the male seemed unsure of what to do. He would fly to the nestbox and look in - not feeding the young. Then he would fly to the pear tree and look around. The next morning I observed for almost an hour. Male not feeding the young. They looked weak. I called the Texas Rehabilitation Center in Houston to make sure they would accept the birds. Drove all the way down to Houston without my air conditioner on so the babies would stay warm. I truly believe in giving the surviving parent a chance to raise the babies, but this was an inexperienced male. Last year's male had no problem going into the mealworm feeder and feeding the young. He is now singing away trying to attract another female. Linda