Rock, what kind of tree is it? Is it possible to obtain a better picture? Sure does look like galls but I've never seen such a huge crop of them! Interesting.

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.

Wow- I have not heard of this happening before. Sounds like the older nestling was helping out with this brood, which is not uncommon. Was his body "damaged" in any way? Any evidence of a fight? Was he bloated? He may have gotten into something wherever he was hunting for food that made him ill. This time of the year is tough on birds - people start applying weed killers, bug killers, etc to their lawns. Hopefully he didn't feed anything like that to the new nestlings. Perhaps in his hunting he had a close call and escaped a cat that caused an infection. That's all that comes to mind right now. Maybe someone else has an idea. Your new nestlings are a week old, so if you need to change the nest to remove the odor of the dead one, it should not be a problem for them. Just use the same material (pine straw or grass) that the female used when she built the nest. It is very important with any odor that there be a pole and baffle system to keep out raccoons who would be looking for a meal and would be attracted by the smell. Sorry this happened - wish there was some way to know for sure what transpired here. Hope your other nestlings do well. Malinda

This has been a very strange nesting year. Normally, we have both bluebirds and tree swallows occupying a single house most of the season. This year, they have come and gone and have been replaced w/other tenants. If they are like my tree swallows, they are not bothered at all by human activity. I even inspect their nests occasionally, and it doesn't seem to bother them. In fact, owners of martin houses are encouraged to frequently inspect the hatchlings for mites and other issues. Additionally, I've have many encounters w/barn swallows while fishing under bridges. They could care less about my presence. Right now, I've got a Carolina wren who took over my bat house. The bat house blew down in a storm, breaking off part of the top. I put it on its side on a table next to a big woodpile to fix, but that wren decided to nest in it before I could get the roof back on. He also is not too concerned w/my proximity. I'll wait until its done, I guess. Regardless of the strange year, I must say it has been a very successful nesting year, judging by all the juveniles. I don't ever recall seeing so many.