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!

I agree with the previous post that I would not mind blue birds pooping on my truck or car at all. Just wash your car more often and enjoy the fact that a nearly extinct beautiful bird is pooping on your car. Most of us on this forum would love to have your problem. This forum is for those of us who love these little blue baby's survive by going to great lengths to protect them. They were nearly extinct because they have so many predators to compete with in the wild and the fact that we humans encroach on the wild animals habitat by taking away more and more land of the land they live in for our ever expanding out of control population and greed. Are you sure they are blue birds and not swallows because they can look alike to the untrained birder eye. However both blue birds and swallows are welcome to poop all over my truck, because the swallow eats a ton of mosquitoes and are also beautiful birds to have around. You can tell if they are swallows by watching them in flight, if you cannot see the color difference in the two birds, swallows have bluish purple shiny wings. The best way to know if it is a swallow is to look at them in flight , there wings look like a boomerang and they will fly around in the same area if there is a good bug hatch on to feed. The blue bird male is very very blue and they tend to dart from place to place feeding on bugs in the air and often on the ground. If your interested in keeping your car clean from a bird that is so loved and protected by so many people all over the country than I would say you have come to the wrong forum. My answer is, as a blue bird lover is enjoy these nearly endangered, friendly, beautiful bird with a song that is so sweet and long to be heard by us here on this forum every year. Put up some blue bird houses if you can on your land and enjoy them instead of trying to keep them from pooping on your cars. We can wash the poop of of the very thing that is nearly making the blue bird and many other species in the wild extinct. Enjoy nature and its creatures and beauty now because it may not be there for long. Im sorry to make this post so long and I may come across as a tree hugging democrat. Not true at all, I have been hunting and fishing all my life own guns legally, and love to be out in the woods away from people with my dogs running off leash where they are the happiest. But over the years these wooded areas got smaller and smaller because us humans have exploded in numbers. We build houses in the woods but call 911 when they see a bear or a coyote in the back yard and immediately want them killed because they want to live in the country but do not want there kids getting attacked by a wild animal that has most likely made the land that was taken away from them by a human there hunting feeding grounds for years and years. And of course the wild animal always loses in the long run. OMG I just got myself all worked up on this subject. I apologize, but I guess you may get the drift that I am for protecting the birds that pooping on your car rather than chasing them away. UH, yah I went a little to far but just wash your cars and enjoy nature while we have it to enjoy. Gina

I discourage the wrens. I take any sticks they put into a box away as quickly as possible. From the information I've read on the Sialis website, if you let wrens nest, you will soon be overrun with wrens. The wrens will poke holes in the Bluebird's eggs, or toss out their chicks. So if you're trying to get Blues, I would certainly discourage the wrens.

Leslie, I'm sorry that happened but as many others have replied, we've all made mistakes. Fortunately I had bluebirds nesting for at least two years before a chickadee showed up and claimed another box. Because of this forum, and the helpful members here, I knew that I could protect the dees FROM the bluebirds by adding a hole reducer (to keep the bluebirds out). I've talked to several people over the years (people I know personally and not from this forum) who have removed chickadee, titmouse and brown headed nuthatch nests because they wanted bluebirds. When I listened to their stories I took a deep breath and then explained how much these other species NEED our help. Bluebirds have been getting our help (YEA!) for the last 40 years and sometimes it's easy to forget or not even think about the other species who also need a safe nesting spot. I think that when we put up that first bluebird nest box we only have one thought in mind...... getting bluebirds to nest in our box! I waited FIVE YEARS to get my first bluebird couple! LOL! What I've experienced in hosting three nest boxes is that the Dees and the brown headed nuthatches are just as much fun and such nice little birds! I've never been lucky enough to host titmice but maybe one day.... Anyway, I know you are sorry and won't do it again and that really is the point. Janie