It happened again and I just don't know what to do anymore.

Two days ago when I last checked the box there was one chick and 2 eggs. The other 2 eggs were gone. When I went out to check today the baby was gone and the 2 eggs were there. It's been more than enough time for these to hatch and when we removed the nest sure enough the eggs hadn't been fertilized. I was crying so hard that I slipped off the bottom rung of the ladder. I almost didn't make it back to the house....fortunately I was sobbing so hard that my husband heard me and came to help me. I can just now talk about it.

This is my second sad experience this year. Last year things went smoothly for the most part. We had a couple of eggs that didn't hatch, but the majority of 3 clutches made it and fledged. I just don't know what has happened this year.

After my husband cleaned the nest out and made changes we had decided on, the male bluebird kept flying to the box and looking in. Then he would go in the box for a while. When he came out he'd fly up to a tree limb, wait for a bit, and go have another look. He did this several times. I didn't see the female which could bring up another concern.

Thank all of you for your advice and support. Part of me wants to just take the box down and forget it. The other part says that it's still early and the weather has been horrid to this point so try at least once more. I'll keep you all advised.