Tim, can you take a photo of the eggs? I've often seen one end of the egg lighter than the rest, like an air sac. I think that is common.

Sounds like a coon got to your DRST.

Donna

I throw a towel over my DRST at dusk & take it in for the night so coons can't get at it

I was forced to use my phone camera, as I have to find my digital camera. But as you can see from this photo, the third egg appears to be smaller than the other 2. At the time, there were no air sacs visible.

Donna, I do realize the air sac is normal, but what I'm trying to say is one has a smaller than normal area for the air sac. It's a small circle, rather than the entire end of the egg.

I have brought the DRST in a couple nights so far, but realize I have to walk at least 200 yards, 2 doors down where I am trapping them. It will be a chore to take in/our every morning and evening, especially when I work.

The more I look at the photos and the eggs, the third certainly looks smaller, and I'd hate to already have infertile eggs. Also, I just got down on how to post photos, so be patient with me please.

~Tim~

Hey Tim, while it does look a bit smaller it doesn't look like a dwarf egg at all. Even when Blues do lay a dwarf egg it doesn't mean the rest are infertile. I would just leave things as they are and wait and see, nothing else you can do anyway really.

Good luck!
Donna

Thank you for some reassurance Donna!

You're correct. There is nothing to do now but wait out the normal incubation period to see what hatches and what doesn't. I'm just a little paranoid/impatient after already losing 2 attempts by the blues this season.

Mrs. blue has been out of the box a lot today, so hopefully that means there will be a 5th egg tomorrow!

~Tim~

Hi Tim, did any hosp escape? I think you said you clip their wings so hopefully they were a happy meal for the coons or at least didn't get far away. That was a wild ride for those hosp! Those eggs look a little different from each other but I always leave everything alone. Glad things are going good except missing the pieces of your drst.

Lexa, there were 6 so none escaped from the coon. One was killed and the other was eaten with only a head left behind (how graphic,lol) Leaving 4 HOSP behind still alive.

I put a female adult HOSP that I trapped in there but must have broke it's leg because it was being feisty, squaking, and biting. So I put her down and out of suffering. Any of you had any female HOSP like that?? I HATE them! They squawk squawk squawk and bite and make such a ruckus!

Mrs. Blue now has 5 eggs!

I decided after stopping by on this forum, to take the repeating trap out of the loft and put it back in the yard. Been noticing small swarms of juvie house sparrows flying around. Was ok with that because they are young and dumb, won't bother the two BB's and their 4 eggs. Then I noticed a couple males on the ground of my feeder, out of pellet gun range. So the young in the yard is bringing the males in too. Not Cool. Males build the nests and males kill all my songbirds. So, after the first day, all I caught were the two new chipmunk offspring. Released them. Second day (today), 7 juvie hosp's. I have good cheap food in there and water. Put a drop cloth over the cage tonight. I can't stand these pests.

Mr wiggles, I know EXACTLY how you feel!

There have been at least two HOSP pair fledging young from neighbor's evergreen trees I believe.

I have caught 18 juveniles in my DRST now! just before donating 9 of them, I caught 3 more! Yesterday evening, I was lucky enough to see the small flock land in my trees. I pulled a crappy, short distance Daisy BB gun out and nailed one about 30-50 ft in the tree! Came crashing to the ground and had to put another shot in him before he was done.

And yet, there are more! They just keep coming! At this rate, I'll be trapping juvenile HOSP ALL SUMMER! I have YET to capture their parents. The DRST seems useless for the adults, yet like a MAGNET for the young! And you are right, being trapped and shot so easily, they are pretty dumb

~Tim~

Tiim, I think I have a hosp trying to build a nest in one of my boxes. I took out the twigs or whatever and am keeping the box open for now. I have bbs all around, but no takers in my other box yet. I think they must be nesting in the large tree behind my yard. I live on a golf course, so there are a few trees around. Ok, I just saw a blue checking out my other box. I need a spooker and a guard I guess for both boxes in case. This could drive you crazy trying to keep bad birds away. I have a friend that put up her first box, bbs nested, laid 5 eggs, they all hatched and they fledged just like in a textbook. She cleaned out the box, has 2 eggs now. My first and second nesting was not at all textbook. First one abandoned, second one two died.

Twigs? Or do you mean GRASS? because HOSP typically use dried grass with weed seeds and garbage, plus an almost positive sign of their presence is finding white noodle droppings in the box or on the nest box roof. If you mean actually TWIGS, this is almost certainly the work of a House Wren; a native but bothersome bird that prefers wooded/dense/brushy areas for nesting.

As far as abandonment on the first attempt, do you have any hawks or cats in the area or immediate vicinity of your boxes? bluebirds are unlikely to abandon young, but if you lose one or both parents, THEN it's possible. That's the 1st thing. The next question, was it young abandoned or eggs?

As for the second nesting, did either parent disappear? If you lost a female soon after hatching, then the male wouldn't be able to brood the young to keep them warm, and they could have died. The possibilities are endless! Sounds to me like better monitoring needs to be done! Be sure to check out Sialis.org. Most comprehensive source available for Bluebirds!

~Tim~

Here is a link that might be useful: Sialis.org

I think it was twigs and grass. I saw the bird, but it looked more like a hosp. Had a black bib. The first nest that was abandoned was 4 eggs that were not viable. Don't know what happened. The female quit coming to the box but I would see the male from time to time. I looked everyday and even marked the eggs to see if they had moved. They had not. They stayed that way for 5 or 6 days then I went out to check the box and the eggs were on the ground with pecked holes In them. They were just eggs, no little nestlings. Why it was abandoned, I don't know. Those eggs stayed in the box a long time without moving before they were thrown on the ground. The blues built a nest in my other box right after that. May have been a different female but the same male. I think something happened to the first female. That is why the eggs were abandoned. I am new at this, but felt I watched pretty closely, but didn't want to disturb them too much.

The eggs being thrown out and pierced w/ holes is DEF. a Wren! If you can move any boxes near brush to more open spaces, please do so! Your problem with Wrens will go down significantly, but they are known to spread further into open areas later in the season. Also, at the bottom of the link below there is what is called a Wren Guard. It should be put up BEFORE HOWR discover a nest box.

As for disturbing them too much, that is difficult to do with bluebirds. You should NOT monitor in the morning during egg laying, or in bad weather, unless something is clearly wrong. Bluebirds are VERY tolerant of humans, though they may dive bomb a monitor. Just make your checks short and exit the area quickly.

~Tim~

Here is a link that might be useful: House Wrens

I do understand about the piercing, but the bbs made a nest in another box right after that, about 50 feet from that one with no problems from other birds. Both boxes are not near any bushes, but there are some branches from the trees near them. I will get a wren guard if the bbs nest again. Do I wait until the first egg is laid before putting it on? Both boxes are empty right now. If I see any wrens or sparrows interested in the boxes, I leave them open.

Yes, put the guard up only AFTER an egg is layed. Also, DON'T wait until incubation!

Doing so during egg laying gives the female time to accept it. I have had 2 pairs abandon after guards, but I think it was based on timing. Better safe than sorry!