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Cowbird egg in phoebe nest

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

So I know both arguments (take it out, leave it in) but can't tell what is the "right" advice. Phoebes have completed their nest and there has been a cowbird eyeing it for some time. This morning, there was a single cowbird egg in it. What should I do? The nest is over our front door, on the lintel. I know the pros and cons to both leaving the egg (competition for food as clutch hatches) and removing it (retaliation from the cowbird) but can't really discern which advice is best. Help!! I love the phoebes... Plus I THINK it is actually not even legal to remove it, is that correct? In which case, what can I do to help the phoebes weather this successfully?

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Comments (3)

staceylynn112
10 years ago
I am wondering the same thing! It is, in fact, illegal because it is a native species. I have read that some people will shake or freeze the egg and put it back, keeping it from hatching and keeping mom from retaliating.
pudgeder
10 years ago
I wouldn't hesitate to dispose of the egg.
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ctlady_gw
Original Author
10 years ago
Well, we did eventually. We left it for a few days, hoping the cowbirds would move on. We shook it first so there would be no chance of it hatching. But as the days went on, I was afraid it would hatch and that would mean the end of the four phoebe chicks' hopes for survival. However, the four chicks hatched (after we removed the cowbird egg), two one day, and two the next. Both days, the newly hatched chicks simply vanished from the nest. Is that the cowbird? (We still see them around the yard.) The phoebes are constructing a new nest on the other end of the door lintel as I write this. They are going to try again... I wish I had a solution to the cowbird dilemma! I am wondering if the two (nearly identical) nests will somehow provide some (decoy) protection this time? How smart are cowbirds anyway?!!

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