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cowbird egg in chipping sparrow nest

13 years ago

Discovered that a chipping sparrow in my yard is sitting on 4 of her own eggs and one cowbird egg! Last year when this happened, the mother abandoned the nest and her eggs when the cowbird hatched...then it died, too. What should I do?? Does anyone remove the cowbird egg...I hate to do that, but I will in order that the mother successfully raise her own brood!! PLEASE ADVISE.....

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Comments (10)

dzyg
13 years ago
Personally if I were you I would remove the cowbird egg, those other babies will surely die if that cowbird hatches.

Others might tell you different that you can't legally do that however what you do in your yard is your business and if you want to see the poor Chipping Sparrow around your yard running themselves ragged trying to feed that one cowbird, that is up to you. Good luck!!

Donna
julied
Original Author
13 years ago
Do you think it's worth waiting until the cowbird hatches (it's supposed to hatch about one day earlier than the others)then remove it and try to raise it myself? I could feed it mealworms, etc. I've had some success with this.
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creeper your taking this a bit to far. Yes I understand we should not "monitor" open nests like we do our nest boxes however knowing when eggs are laid, incubation begins and hatching occurs is helpful to know when to expect babies to leave the nest so we can help protect them. It also helps to know if a Cowbird egg has been laid etc.. Any good birder knows how to monitor an open nest from afar or when a closer look is needed by watching the parents behavior. I appreciate your concern for the birds but responsibly monitoring an open nest is not a death sentence for the babies. There are many stories out there of fledglings with a foot caught in the nest or babies pushed or fallen from the nest and replaced that were saved by us humans just paying attention , from a distance. You are right traipsing up to the nest to look everyday for our amusement is a bad thing and many people don't know that. Your information is valuable. Lets be encouraging to those becoming interested in birds! Watch them closely ..from afar and come here for questions!
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It's a baby cardinal! And it just finally left the artificial ficus while it's parents called to it from a nearby tree! It's little "mohawk" is in, and the colors are that of a baby cardinal and not a cowbird. It just was very reluctant to leave the nest. Yesterday, it began to crawl out further onto the branches of the ficus, chip-chipping and a parent would answer back. The parents have spent so much time with this particular fledgling...I have to wonder about the safety of the other two. They're still out there. The male comes flying out from under our window shrubs when blackbirds are in the front yard and issues his "alert." What a relief...but now, that little chipmunk from next door! I started tossing seed balls into their own shrubbery to keep the chipmunk away and am using live mealworms and safflower. Might have to take down the suet, since the cowheads/blackbirds seem to like it far too much and come into territory where the fledglings are hiding. I read they will fly within 20 days. It's now 14 days since I first noticed the birds were hatched. They could have hatched before I saw them. So when should they begin to fly? I know the parents do stay with them and "train" them.. But that chipmunk! Thank you all for responding to my "cardinal adventure." What a lovely song they sing. : ) ...And I just watched the little guy hop off with both parents very near. I don't hear them now. Just so they're all safe!
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dzyg
13 years ago
Why would you want to let it survive just so it could go on to do the same thing in another birds nest? I would throw it out but you do what you want. Waiting for hatching could still mean death to the others if you don't see that it has hatched right away, it will always get the food whereas the others won't and will die. I am sure you will get other advice but I guess you can do what you want to do.

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Konrad___far_north
13 years ago
Agree on Donna's advise
chris8796
13 years ago
I would toss the cowbird egg. Cowbird numbers are booming. Many governmental bodies are actively trapping and destroying them to save other species, just search "cowbird control".
lisa11310
13 years ago
Shake or freeze the egg so it will not hatch and return it to the nest. Some say the Moma Cowbird will return to the nest and destroy the other babies if her egg goes missing. I have no clue if this is true or not. Definatly do not let that egg hatch!
bob414
13 years ago
This Nova Video pretty much proves that the mother Cowbird will destroy the other eggs if hers is missing.
She wants the other bird to lay new eggs so she can lay hers again.
dzyg
13 years ago
Wow bob414 that video was really interesting!! Yep I change my vote to take that cowbird egg and shake it to death or freeze it and then put it back.

Donna
russ2009
13 years ago
Thanks Bob for that video link. I watched it twice. I have those cowbirds daily at my bird feeders and never really knew what they were called. I am new to this birding thing and love it. Who would have guessed this nice looking bird could be so nasty and mean?
Thanks again.......Russ
terrene
13 years ago
Very interesting video! I wonder how they do cowbird control? At least they can provide nest boxes with small holes for the Prothonotary Warblers and keep the Cowbirds out.

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