I am sure they will be fine, I would definatly leave them!

They will definitely hatch. One night means nothing. I had a female missing for an entire night in the spring when it was really cold and all the eggs hatched fine.
Cathy

I think that this is what having a camera teaches us-
We think we know that they sit and incubate all the time, when in reality they can go missing for several hours or even a night and the eggs still hatch.
With our Wood Ducks they sat at night and were gone during the day and then on several days they sat for 3-4 hours in the day time and were gone at night and she had almost a 100 percent hatch.
Mother Nature is fun and interesting to watch.

I agree, the eggs will likely be fine and Connie, you really hit the nail on the head!!!! What I've seen with nest box cameras has been shocking and enlightening. The old time bluebirders have learned plenty actually being able to see everything through that cam.

Janie May, does this mean you broke down and installed your cam? How many years have you had that thing and never used it? I had TRES in my cam box this year, couldn't see much with the feathers but was able to hear and see parents come and go and also if anything unusual was going on, was kinda like having a "baby monitor" from dawn till dusk.(thats only because hubby insisted I turn it off at night)! LOL

I think like your hubby.
There is enough glow from that red light to keeps Mom awake.
We had a outside camera that was viewing the pond where the baby ducks would jump. There was quite a glow coming from the box at midnight.
I wondered also if it might not attract raccoons and etc. to the box.
So we turn it off at night.

Thanks everybody for the information. I'm really surprised the eggs can still hatch. Last year I had bluebirds incubating twice and none hatched. I have no idea why. I thought she was leaving the nest too much, but now I think she or the male were not fertile.
About the red light from cameras - not all cameras have it. Originally, IR LEDs don't have any visible light but I think sometimes manufacturers add the "red glowing" option so you can see it's on. I have only one camera with the red glowing - it's an outdoor camera, used for yard monitoring. The rest of my cameras are completely invisible at night, including the camera in the bluebird nest.
If the red light bothers you and you are good with electronics, you can purchase an IR board from ebay, china sellers have them very cheap - just a few dollars delivered. Then replace your "glowing" board. The only problem is that you never know if the new board will glow or not. From my experience, boards with less than 30 LEDs don't glow. The board I am using in the nest was purchased from ebay - 24 LED, $2 delivered (I purchased it because the camera was not infrared originally - I modified it :))

They are hatching! Three so far :)

Don't know what the cameras and LED's look like but my son, a Staff SGT in the Marine Corps and an electronics and computer specialist made this suggestion about Video Camera lights. Put a piece of black electricians tape over the lights.

He says this also works with annoying red lights on your dash that tell you you need to have your engine checked (He learned that from a girl friend)

I'm not a Staff SGT in the Marine Corps, but I've been using tape to cover unwanted lights since being a toddler :) Still, I would not recommend anybody covering a warning light and ignoring a problem.
In the case of the IR lights it would be better to disconnect the wires from the IR board, it will also save energy and produce less heat. Anyway, I don't see a reason to do such a thing - without the IR lights you will not be able to see anything, so running a camera with the lights covered makes no sense at all. It's better to unplug it or use a timer to turn it off during the night hours if the glowing bothers you. Personally, I would just change the IR board too one not visible as I explained above.

Lisa, LOL, no way! A friend gave me a cam for Christmas a few years ago and it remains in a box, untouched. I've viewed the cams of other people enough to know that I don't want one! TMI! Malinda feels the same way. :D