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| Example of a cowbird egg that was laid in a bluebird nest. To learn more about cowbirds check out this web article. |
April 26, 2012: The bluebird nest with 5 eggs, one smaller than the rest, is likely a failed attempt and out of an abundance of caution I will wait until next week to remove it. Then I can be certain the nest has failed as by then those eggs, if viable, should have hatched. One chickadee nest has 8 eggs, another, 7 eggs, and a third is covered completely in fur. Another box has a carpet of moss, a chickadee nest in progress. A medium-sized speckled egg has been deposited in an unoccupied nest, probably made by bluebirds but abandoned. House sparrows and cowbirds lay speckled eggs of that size. I believe it is a cowbird egg, because the next box on the trail, one containing a thriving bluebird nest, now also has two speckled eggs in it, in addition to the 5 blue eggs. Cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. They are a protected native species so I may not interfere, though it may make it difficult for the bluebird parents. A tree swallow emerged from one nest box, but hasn't yet begun to build a nest in it. A nearby box had one feather, one long pine needle, and one empty gum wrapper inside. The gum wrapper points to a house sparrow, the feather could mean a tree swallow. I removed the wrapper and will check again next week. The final box has only a small amount of grass inside.
