Marric, where are you located? Are the eggs sm, med or large? My first thought was Killdeer but the color splotch is wrong. I even did a Google search for "ground nesting bird eggs" and was a little stunned by the number of hits that came up.

Rosie

Here is a link that might be useful: ground nesting bird eggs

I'm in central Ontario, Canada. The one time I saw a small brown bird running away from the nest when I got to close. At first I thought it was a mouse! Marg

Kind of looks like Kildeer eggs.

I don't think killdeer or other ground nesters make "cup" stick nests on the ground; rather they have scrapes.

So was that nest actually on the ground or in the mint and lilies?

That said, it looks like a cardinal nest.

I had also posted this on another forum and gotten an answer from them. They are the eggs of either Chip or Tree Sparrows, we do have both around here. BTW, this nest was right in the middle of a daylily I was going to move. Thanks.

It's more likely a song sparrow's since they make their nests in hedges and other low plants. Hope all goes well with it.

My guess a Clay-colored Sparrow or chipper..hard to say, eggs look very similar among sparrows.