Since I've never actually SEEN catbird eggs, I probably should have researched this a bit before posting. It seems that catbird eggs are actually all blue, and that these are most likely cowbird eggs. NOW WHAT DO I DO???
I've now read that many catbird nests fall victim to the dreaded cowbird but did they have to remove all the catbird eggs???
Kathy

kathy, i have an active catbird nest where the eggs hatched last week and the babies are adorable! it's in a little cedar tree in the front yard. as i recall, the eggs were solid blue, much like bluebird eggs but with a tiny green tint to them.

i think you might want to just pierce these eggs, if they are from a cowbird, and leave them in the nest. i have read where, if you destroy cowbird eggs, the cowbird will take revenge wherever it can!

in this same little cedar tree, there is a chippy nest with 3 eggs, very close to the outside of a branch, easily visible and the eggs are SOOOO tiny!!

KATHY!!! i JUST remembered because when i saw that picture, those eggs looked familiar! you might have a brown thrush nest there!!! watch to see if you can see what bird goes to the nest. we had a brown thrush nest in the honeysuckle and that is EXACTLY what her eggs looked like. be careful because if that's what they are, she won't mind you looking while they are still intact but when they hatch, if you get too close, SHE WILL TAKE YOU DOWN!!!! :D

I don't think a cowbird would lay all its eggs in one nest. That is not their habit. And I do not think those are cowbird eggs. See the link below for cowbird egg or do some image searches on Yahoo or Google for cowbird egg.
Please please please do your homework and do not harm any nest or eggs (unless they are HOSP or EUST). Watch to see who is sitting, who is coming and going to the nest.
Do some more image searches. Or post the picture on the BIRDS forum, where there are more people who might know about birds that nest outside cavities. (I have actually seen a nest of eggs just like that in one of my trees, but it had been abandoned, so I never knew who their mother was.)
Eggs can vary among species. We know that bluebirds sometimes lay pure white eggs.
Catbirds are delightful guests, but I don't think they take well to interference as bluebirds will. Please be careful.
Bluebars

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.sialis.org/cowbirds.htm

No those aren't cowbird eggs. Don't pierce them They are beige with brown spots. Catbirds eject cowbird eggs that are laid in their nests if I remember correctly.
Cathy

Kathy I think you may have a Rose Breasted Grosbeak nest.
Cathy

Thanks for the responses. I don't think I will do anything with this nesting except, as BlueBars suggested, observe and do a bit more research. I did do some research last night and this morning, after I posted (unfortunately) and that's when I discovered they were not catbird eggs. I'm about 75% sure that it was a catbird I disturbed when I walked by which was what led me to discover the nest in the first place. Nina, I can't seem to find a good photo of a brown thrush or their eggs anywhere on-line. When I google it, brown thrasher also comes up and while we do have those in our yard, their eggs are a light tannish color. Cathy, I guess it could be a grosbeak though I haven't seen them in our area--I think I will also take BlueBars suggestion and post this on the Bird Forum to see what they think.
Thanks for all your help--I'll keep you posted.
Kathy
P.S. Things are finally hopping on the trails! Lots of early losses due to wet, chilly weather, but the blues are rebounding. Middletown has 7 of 10 boxes occupied by bluebirds in various stages of nesting. Ballenger has 5 out of 10 boxes occupied and my school trail has 2 boxes of tree swallows and a bluebird nesting on round 2. Here at home 2 boxes are tree swallows and the other 2 are bluebirds!

Everytime you visit that nest, you leave a scent trail for raccoons and possums, and they will eat the eggs or chicks. It is best to not visit cup nests. You endanger them by doing so, and you don't want to do that.

I have read too that Catbirds do not fall victim to cowbirds very often as they recongnize and imposter egg. I have seen catbird eggs and they are the prettiest bluegreen, with no speckling. Hope you can figure out what these eggs are.

Donna

Thanks, Elly. I'm not going to visit the nest site again. I can see it pretty well from my deck with the binocs. Unfortunately it is in a pretty well-traveled area of the yard--we walk under the arbor into the back yard several times each day this time of year.
Kathy

Okay, it looks like this could possibly be a mockingbird nest. That's what flew from the arbor when I went onto the deck this morning. Wonder why they'd build in such a high-traffic area?
Kathy

*If you search Yahoo images there are several pics on the Flickr site (posted by anyone with a camera and captioned by those same people, mind you) and many of the pics captioned mockingbird eggs looked exactly like your picture.
*I believe the human "scent trail" attracting raccoons and possoms to bird nests is a myth. If I were a raccoon, the last thing I would want to follow is human scent, unless of course, they are dropping food I might enjoy. HOWEVER, I do believe that disturbing a wild bird nest too much can cause abandonment. Catbirds are quite shy, but mockingbirds not so much, and you would never want to scare young birds out of the nest before their time.
*Talk about mockingbirds and high traffic! We have a little traffic "island" on our street, with a tall streetlight post and one of those traffic arrow signs that warn drivers to bear right. There is a little holly bush directly behind the sign, and every year mockingbirds nest there successfully. I think they like to live dangerously; bold birds they are! But this is not a front door view I would choose--with cars coming straight at me day and night and nothing but a little arrow to swerve them at the last minute LOL. And all those lights! Even the street paving and cable drilling all around them last year did not faze them; and all 4 fledged fine.
Bluebars

Kathy..I don't know what Mockingbird eggs look like, but I've had several nesters through the years...this year, they nested in a low branch of a crepe myrtle on the corner of my front yard...lots of human traffic, yard men, cars pulling in and out of my driveway, etc. I happen to love these birds...if you have mockers, they are very territorial and most of the time, will dive bomb anyone who gets close to the nest after the eggs hatch! They love fruit, especially blueberries and several years ago, they would "almost" eat out of my hand while feeding their babies...just amazing!

Let us know when you identify your residents!

Donna

Be careful. Everyone knows that mockingbirds kill people.

OK, they only kill people under 60 pounds.

: )

kathy, this is the brown thrush nest, not a very good picture but i didn't want to disturb the nest. it was built in the honeysuckle vine right outside my back door. they fledged last week.

{{!gwi}}

Thanks, Nina. Great picture. I really think the nest belongs to a mocker, though, because that's the only bird I've seen in the vicinity. I read the nest description on-line and it's exactly like the nest in the arbor. I don't know how to tell the difference between males and females, but one of them is so territorial and would actually follow us around the neighborhood as we walked our dogs when we first moved here. Guess it just wanted to see if we were coming back or not--since the house was empty for several months before we moved in, the durn thing probably thought the house belonged to him/her! By the way, the descriptions I read about the brown thrasher said it is a bird that is extremely protective of its nest--even to the point of physically attacking people!! I'm glad this isn't a thrasher nest!
Anyway, I think we can call this mystery solved. By the way, my grape jelly keeps disappearing but I haven't seen the orioles at the feeder a single time! I wish mine were like yours--NOT SHY!!!
Kathy

One of the best things about this forum is how much you can LEARN from reading here. Thanks so much for posting pictures and identifying these eggs. Of course the other thing that is great is all of you! Hugs
Elly, no danger of my being killed by a mockingbird! haha
Anita

ninapearl, you wrote brown thrush. Did you mean brown thrasher? (not wood thrush, right?) I would like to save this picture for reference!
BlueBars

That has me confused, too, BlueBars. When I first googled brown thrush, the search also included info on the brown thrasher, which we have plenty of here. Are they the same? I could not find anything useful about the brown thrush and, in fact, kept receiving the suggestion to "see mimic thrush". My field guide stuck in one of my school bags and I suppose I'd better figure out which one it's in and dig it out.
Kathy

yes bluebars, i think i did mean brown thrasher. she has a speckled breast, sort of streaked with white. very pretty bird and VERY protective of her babies! we seem to have an over-abundance of them this year. :)

I was late reading this thread but it sure is interesting! :D

Kathy, as far as mockingbirds nesting in high traffic areas.....sometimes they do! "My" mockers nested in a Juniper shrub that backs up to my mail box. And it's a good thing I am over 60 pounds cause they are vicious when protecting eggs or babies. We stopped going to the mail box and our carrier (a very nice woman) brought the mail to the door till they fledged. And oh my goodness, the fledglings were absolutely adorable and spent several weeks in my yard after they fledged. Had to "shoo" one out of the middle of the street one day and the adults were after me AND my dog (who was only helping) like you wouldn't believe. Gotta love 'em and that spunk!

The only other mockingbird nest that I've personally seen was right outside a neighbors garage door in a tall shrub. Very, very high traffic area once again. Fortunately the neighbors and their young children (real nature lovers) kept their distance once they discovered that there was a nest with eggs in the shrub.

Unfortunately I can't tell you what the eggs looked like because I only viewed the nest at a distance with binoculars and could not see the color on the eggs.

I also have a mockingbird's nest this year. She's selected the crepe myrtle out front, which doesn't get much traffic. Close to the bird bath with a clear line of sight. She's let me get close and I talk to her whenever I approach. I'll watch for more aggressive behavior when the eggs (4) hatch.