Oh, how sad. Of course you are distressed. I believe you are saying all the eggs are still in the boxes? Do you have sparrow spookers up on the boxes? The only thing I can think of that would kill all 3 bluebirds, but not eat them would be house sparrows. Are you seeing any house sparrows now trying to use the boxes?

Hi Kathleen- I'll address you since the other posts are old. I am so very sorry that you have experienced this. Did you read what the responses were to the older post of one that lost a bluebird on the nest? I would just repeat everything that they said. If absolutely no sign of injury, I would suspect lawn pesticides, but considering what happened to the 1st person that posted & didn't see signs of injury on her bluebird, it did turn out to be house sparrows. I would highly suspect this. Do you think the female is dead too? If so, again I would be suspicious of HOSP. Answering your question, the male would not starve himself, nor is he able to brood eggs. If the female died too, the eggs wouldn't have hatched because the female is the one to incubate the eggs. She has a brooding patch on her lower abdomen that the male doesn't have. If she is alive, she may not be returning to nest because of the failed nest situation, especially if there was foul play. Make sure you know that she is not returning before removing the nest & eggs. If she is alive, she will probably try to find a new mate. Without repeating too much, make sure your birdhouse is on a pole with a baffle & put a sparrow spooker up after the 1st egg. If you know for sure that the nest has been abandoned & you don't get any activity, you may want to change the location of the box (birdhouse). If you immediately get a house sparrow setting up shop, then you'll know that was most likely the culprit. Again, if female is not returning, now would be the time to get a Van Ert trap for your house to trap the male & female HOSP. If you do, make sure you are monitoring every hour if possible so you don't trap a native bird. They can die in there if without food for too long. One of the previous posts left a website for the Van Ert trap. Again, the previous posts left great advice for your situation. This site is not as active as it used to be for bluebirders, so you may want to post to bluebirdnut.com. Lots of bluebird experts are on that site like this one used to have. That's where I go whenever I need advice. BTW, I lived in Atlanta for ten years (live in AL now). Very sorry to hear about your bluebird tragedy. Hope you'll have another pair come for a future nesting, but definitely get that sparrow spooker!

Hi Susan- Are you talking about the floor dimensions? They range according to what style of box you have (from 4" x 4" up to 5.5" I think). My other house is also decorative with a tin roof (smaller floor). That roof can definitely cause the heat to soar. My bluebirds used it before I got a proper bluebird box. Now, they definitely prefer the bluebird box. I'm going out of town for a couple of days, but would be happy to measure for you next week. In the meantime, ask on the other forum. There is a guy named Fred on there that is a total expert on bluebird box dimensions. Earlier in the season, there was a post about this that you may find helpful there. Is your hole diameter 1.5"? As you've read, there's not a lot of nesting going on right now. Nicole

Hi Anita- so so sad! I truly hate to hear that news! The males are such beauties! The only thing I can think is pesticides. Maybe the males were hunting in a yard/ area where pesticides had been used & the babies were being fed from that same hunting area? If it didn't look like any foul play took place, that's the only thing I can imagine. Some babies are affected by heat this time of year, but it's usually when they're younger. You know what? There are lots of bluebird experts on bluebirdnutcafe.com. You may want to inquire there to see if anyone else has any ideas. So glad the TRES nest was successful! So very sorry to hear about your bluebirds! Nicole