I had nearly the exact thing happen this year (2025). This box had crisis last year when I found the nestlings wet, their nest soaked and berry seeds abundant. What I was told was that the parents were feeding them non-native berries because there weren't enough insects! I took the nestlings out, cleaned the box, replaced with a dry nest and supplemented with mealworms. Two males and a female ran nearly 100 mealworms into that nestbox within the next 20 minutes! It was a rescue mission. The nestlings all survived and fledged three days later. But this year, that nestbox wasn't touched until way late in the season. I was glad to see they were back, better late than never. But maybe not. Four eggs, four nestlings, all looked well. I checked them a day ago, providing rehydrated mealworms. I noticed some dog doo near where I put the mealworms. I wonder if that could affect the nestlings by contamination. I took the bos down and it felt light. I wondered if they had fledged but it was too soon. All four melding together and decomposing! This park is chemical-free, the only one in Orange (CA). All the other nestlings in the other five boxes had a good run. This was a special box and had yet another disaster this year! No evidence of foul play, no insects, etc. Another seasoned monitor told me it might be due to the male not returning, maybe killed in a fight, and the female abandons the nest. The nest box is down, washed out and waiting for a thorough cleaning. I hope they return to this box next season. We'll see. Very sad.

Hi again Donna, Thanks for the link! I have been out of town, but when I returned there was the start of a soft grassy nest like the blues build. Today, the box is filled almost to the top with sticks on top of the grass nest. Looks like I have a competing species of birds. I'm online now to find out what kind of bird builds this type of nest. If it is a sparrow, I guess it's best to remove it. I'm sure they'll rebuild though. Can you put the sparrow spooker up to help with this or is it only after eggs are laid? Thanks.

I would like to update my case. The HOSP made one more attempt (when the wounded BB baby was still alive, but seemed could not compete for food), but that time I noticed that BB parents behaved strange and hesitated to enter the house, though they did not sound very concerned. Just in case I approached the house and stuck my finger in, as soon as I puled it out, the HOSP male flew out and I even touched him, BB parents chased him away. If I knew it before I could catch him. I checked the BB babies and they were fine but scared. I was sure that day the HOSP would not return, The next morning, 2 days later after the first HOSP attack, I found the wounded BB dead and the BB female tried to carry him out. I made her leave the house, took out and disposed the dead BB (smell was already bad). I decided to exploit the smartness of the HOSP against him. As I mentioned he leaned that the spooker was not dangerous, and fishing line was also useless against him. I opened the front wall and left it open to serve as a perch site. Instead I attached two-entry patch and stuck it with a scotch tape. I was certain that the HOSP would be too smart to ignore the sudden transformation of the BB house. Besides the house started looking more scary, like having two big eyes. The other thing I pursued with this transformation is to have emergency exit or entrance, since the HOSP would not be able to block the both holes at the same time. With the 2 holes there was more light inside and I could check the nestlings without opening the door. At first the BB parents were confused, but shortly they figured out their babies were still inside and doing well. As the result I have not seen the HOSP around anymore, the BB parents became more defensive and the three BB babies have fledged yesterday. Now I need an advice or opinion: a) I take the BB house down until I significantly reduce HOSP population. Actually the HOSP infestation was not too bad first, but then numerous young HOSPs fledged from the neighbors house and the area became heavily infested. That house is like the HOSP farm, and at the same time HOSPs would almost never seat on my roof. b) I keep the BB house with the transformed front wall, c) I restore the house to its original shape, where I can set up a trap as needed. Thanks. This post was edited by stal14 on Wed, Jul 2, 14 at 11:24

may 27th at about 1230am i lost a really good friend. and ive been searching for answers everywhere as to why. i found this forum and wanted to share my story. his name was oreo and he was only 5 yrs old. i came home that evening,to him sitting near his food bowl empty. got him the food. went back into the kitchen to find him do a little scurry across the floor. i wasnt really worried at first until i bent down to pet him to see what the problem was and ran into my living room then laid down on his side stretch out all his legs and let out a loud moan meow then it looked like he had trouble breathing and that he was having a siezure. i though he may have been choking i didnt know how to react so i stuck my fingers in his mouth and there was nothing. then his tongue was out of his mouth and i looked at his chest and saw he wasnt breathing anymore. my other cat nudged him with her head then walked away. for some reason i thought more could be done i took him to the emergency vet. but i knew he was already gone. i didnt know that autopsy could be done on animals they didnt offer it to me. does any one have a similar story and know what might have caused this to happen? i can't get this out of my head i relive it everyday and just wonder.