Very odd things happening with my houses this year. I had bluebirds in one house that laid 5 eggs. For the most part I try to stay away so they don't get spooked. In this case the next time I checked there was one fledgling that I saw but he didn't seem ready to fly away yet. But when I checked 2 days later there were no babies or eggs. The nest was empty. This box was protected with the mesh on the opening. I'm hoping time just flew by and the brood hatched and fledged in my absence! Will the parents start a new brood in the same nest or should I clean the box out for them to start over? I had another box that had activity, 5 eggs layed and a week later no eggs or babies. I fear they were killed since it was an old house from last year and it did not have the protective metal mesh at the opening. I have a nest nearby with the mesh protection. I kept checking and there was no activity or eggs. Then suddenly there was one egg!! I assumed the mom would lay more. I checked for 2 days, still only one egg. The third day the egg hatched with a tiny bald with a little fuzz baby bird. I kept watching from a distance and I did not see the male or female going into the house. I skipped looking inside the box today. I wanted to stay totally away. Tomorrow I will check again. I hope the little guy is okay.... Is it unusual for a female to lay only one egg? I'm thinking that perhaps the pair that were in the other box moved to this box when a predator got their other eggs..... Thus only one last egg to lay??? The box with the one egg is about 20 feet from the empty box. Perhaps this is part of that brood? Can the mom or dad move an egg or did she just lay it in a different box?? I have another box about 100 feet from that one protected with the mesh that some sparrows have taken over. They have built a nest and hang out in front of it on the mesh opening and on top of it but no eggs for well over a month. Perhaps they are the culprits that got the 5 bluebird eggs. Very strange that they built a nest and aren't using it. I know they will build several, one as a decoy or to give the female a choice, but I don't see that they've done that unless they are planning to take over the bluebird box. I will be keeping a watch on that....

I am finding a similar situation with my blue bird. She laid 4 eggs. None have hatched and they are past the 20 incubation period but she is still sitting on them. This is my first time experiencing this so i'm not sure what to do at this point. I don't want her to keep sitting on eggs that won't hatch but it breaks my heart to remove them from her.

It's hard to say for sure. Was there any trauma to the chicks? Do you have house sparrows in the area? I would think that the snake would have eaten the chicks and left no trace. Dead babies with trauma may be most likely due to a house sparrow attack. Sialis.org is the best source of information for troubleshooting situations like this. I'm so sorry; this is the difficult and sad part of being a bluebird nest monitor!

This morning, I found that the hole of our most active box had been blocked with shredded cedar nesting(?) material. It could have been like that for up to 48 hrs before I found it, although that seems extreme given they were still alive. The babies (still very young) were lethargic but both parents were soon coming and going. Almost six hours later and babies still seem slow/not right, and I’m not sure if all are living. Parents are still actively involved. I’m at a loss. Do I leave them be or take them to the wildlife center? I hate to take them when the parents are still involved. No idea how or why the hole was blocked. Any info or advice appreciated.