IMO you are all worrying about soemthing that really is not that important. The larva will abandon their old nest and build a new nest on any fresh plant given to them. In my micro habitat water cages when I cleaned a cage I pulled all the old plant/nests and set them aside in an escape proof tray. I'd clean the cage, put it back together and then stick fresh cut plant through the holes and into the water bath. Next I'd clip the old nests from the old plant and placed them on or near the new fresh plant. When the larva come out to feed they move to and feed on the new plant, then construct a new nest there. Depending on which species of lep and plant and how many larva I had to a cage, I changed the cut plant anywhere from once daily to every few days. The larva didn't mind at all, and this allowed me to always have the freshest plant for them to eat in the cleanest environment to prevent disease. I know, I still need to take pictures of one of my home made cages. That new digital that MissSherry forced me to buy will be delivered by the big brown truck sometime today... maybe when I have a good day I'll get a cage dug out of storage to try it out on. ;) Larry

Mlkbskt, Blowfly larva are disgusting looking little creatures. Google it and you can find images of them. I only used to do nest checks like you, with a quick peek to see the babies are ok until I cleaned out a Bluebird nest last year and found a bunch of full sized blowfly larva underneath it. I was amazed all those babies fledged from that infested nest. I now use the spatula method (have a spatula dedicated to bird houses) and take a peek underneath the nest to see if I can see anything. But if the blowfly larva are small, you probably won't even see them that way. And if they are really large, they are ready to pupate and have already done their damage. A little fly just flies in there and lays her eggs. That is where they come from. There is really nothing you can do to prevent it from happening. It is a really gross job, and I always wear latex gloves to do it. Glad to hear your nest was so clean. My nests haven't been infested with blowfly larva too often. I've read it is more likely if the weather is very wet, which it had been around here.

I have never been able to see any larvae on the babies, I am to afraid to move the babies and will just gently lift a wing of who ever is close. I know these last babies had them I found 20 -30 under the nest. Elly, WHERE IS THEIR EAR? LOL Im pretty sure I should not be poking around babies when I dont even know what their ear looks like. I do have baby TRES right now that have lost a parent. I know they are prone to blowfly. I am wondering if I should remove them one by one and look closley, they are 8 days old. Cold weather is not helping, keeping the flying bugs sparse. 1 parent, not many flying bugs and blowfly could be a very un happy ending. I trust your judgemnt what do ya think I should do?

My phoebes had skipped a year of nesting in their usual place (above the porch light fixture near my office door). My mirror set-up had scared them away. I should have realized that birds do not "like" mirrors -- but I didn't think about it at the time. I did see a bird pecking all day at the mirror, looking behind it, then pecking angrily at it when seeing the "intruder" again. That bird came back the next day to peck at the mirror again. I felt sorry for him wasting his time. But, I didn't think about the phoebes reaction being the same. So, they never nested there last year. I removed the mirror, but they still did not return to nest there this spring. Instead, they nested on another side of the house -- under our raised deck (same as last year). But, after the 1st brood was fledged -- THEY MOVED BACK TO THEIR OLD NESTING SPOT! So, the phoebes apparently got fed up with the disturbances created by our toy poodle (who is let out onto our raised deck several times a day.) The poodle would be walking directly over their nest, and possibly pissing over their nest. The nest building started May 25, 2021 and completed on the 30th or 31st. The mother was sitting on the nest on May 31, and there were 2 eggs in the nest. So, the first egg was likely delivered on May 30. By June 3, there were 5 eggs. All the eggs hatched on June 17 -- so, exactly 2 weeks after the last egg was laid. Interesting that all eggs hatched on the same day, even though each egg was laid a day apart. When I peeked, all the shells were gone. So, even tho I didn't see it, I assume that the parents removed all the egg shells. I also see the parents flying away with baby-bird poop. The poop looks like worms, and the parents carry it away from the nest. They either drop it or eat it (it is undigested food). Today is June 23, and the parents are often very busy bringing food. The bay birds are still too small to see without using a mirror over the nest. Here is a link to a very interesting article from 1937, detailing the observations of nesting habits of phoebes as studied over a 3-yr period. A few interesting details: Female does all the nest building. Incubation starts at varying times - sometimes after 3rd egg, sometimes after 4th, sometimes after 5th. The male apparently does none of the incubation. After fledging, the young birds remain close to the nest, getting farther way as the days pass. Both parents still feed the young after they fledge -- feeding them for periods of up to 18 days. Reliance on the parents gradually decreases. The parents may eventually show harsh treatment of the young to get them to go out on their own. Interesting. https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v059n03/p0410-p0417.pdf