i was reading this thread with interest. i have a situation where it appears i have 8 bluebirds who have hatched in one nest (thursday may 2, they were born). it may be 9, it's hard to tell. while monitoring the nest in late april i noticed what appeared to be eggs missing from the 3 that had been laid earlier in that week. the reality was that the eggs had been pushed down deeper into the nest and covered with pine straw. the mother kept coming back (may have been another species coming in and covering the egg with straw? i have seen no house sparrows here at all) and eventually she started laying again. turns out, there were 10 eggs total in this nest when she was done! i guess five from the first attempt and 5 after that. bottom line, 8 babies are in there now. i'm putting out meal worms twice a day and making sure there's lots of water nearby in the bird bath, and plenty of shelled sunflower seeds for the parents nearby in that feeder. anyone ever seen or heard of a situation like this?

First thing that comes to mind is a House wren, they can and will poke holes in other birds eggs and throw them from the nest. However they normally don't leave any left, the will poke them all and or throw them all out. Unless it got interrupted while doing so, if the Blues returned and chased it away. The Bluebird would not normally take an egg out. There are many times one egg doesn't hatch for some reason and they just leave it right there and don't ever take it out. I would keep any eye out, hopefully they don't give up on the two remaining ones but if it was a wren it will probably be back. Good luck! Donna

Awwww..so sorry to hear of this. That storm came through my yard too, and took one of my Bradford Pears down. It landed across my driveway, and luckily did not hit the house or our basketball goal. Gosh, it came through really fast. If you are not seeing them back at the house at all, then they have abandoned the nest. You don't need to wait the 2 weeks to remove the nest. Give it a few days, and when you are sure that they have abandoned, go ahead and remove the nest. Maybe they will build there again. There is still plenty of time.~~Angie

The Mom has to get them through the first few days. You always want to be 100% positive the female is gone, they do not always start incubating right away. A new female will not care for this nest. If Pop is not calling for a new mate Im not so sure Mom is really gone. You said it is very warm there, she may just be hoping in to turn them and you are missing her. Even if you THINK you are 100% sure she is gone I would still candle the eggs before disposing of them. (Shine a bright light through them to see if they are clear or if there is a mass inside)be sure your hands are clean. If the eggs are clear and your sure it has been 3 weeks you can assume the female is gone and you can remove the nest (but keep it for emergencies). Go to www.sialis.org to learn all you can about Blues and other cavity nesters. Please be 100% sure she is gone. Good Luck!