Question:
I have had bluebirds this spring near my home.
I was so excited to see they began to nest in
an old bluebird house after I cleaned out an old
nest from the year before. I don't know what was
nesting their previously.
They built one nest and shortly after I noticed 4 eggs. Some time
later the eggs were on the ground outside the nest. I left the nest
alone and waited for them to return, they didn't. I removed the
nest after about 5 days and they built another nest. then 4 more
eggs. I was hoping for babies, then a few days later the eggs were
on the ground outside the nest.
Why do you suppose this happened? I never touched the nest, only
opened the box and looked.
Can you tell me why?
Replies:
I can only guess, without seeing for myself. A likely GUESS is some kind of
predator. Raccoons and snakes are two common predators of bluebird nests,
however a snake would likely swallow the eggs whole and leave no remains.
Were the eggs on the ground broken or whole? Many bluebird nest boxes are
now designed with some kind of predator guard to reduce the chances of
raccon and other predation.
NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.
