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What are they thinking?

10 years ago

My Bluebird pair has just started a fourth clutch. I have serious doubts that if the eggs hatch (three as of today) they can make it before winter. I've had a fairly late nesting before, but not this late. I'm in MA and I don't think the poor babies will have time to molt into their adult feathers before winter. I wonder why they would try another nesting so late in the season. Could these be young, inexperienced birds that don't know any better?

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Comments (2)

wild_birdie
10 years ago
Hi Kendra,

Curious to know the fate of this brood? It does seem like a very late nesting, especially for MA.

With four clutches in past years, the 2013 bluebird season hasn't been as kind. With the first eggs attacked by house wrens (a first for the yard), my home pair had a late start.

The last clutch was only two eggs (another first) and hawks nesting in nearby woods didn't bode well for the blues.

Do you subscribe to the Bluebird Monitor's Forum?

Thanks,
Beth

Here is a link that might be useful: The Birdhouse Chick - Bluebird Houses
kendra2003
Original Author
10 years ago
All the eggs were infertile and eventually abandoned. The bluebirds still hang around, and I've seen the male checking out the empty nest from time to time. This year was the worst out come for me so far. Usually we get three broods of five and have 15 successful fledges per season. This year they laid a total of 22 eggs, and only had seven hatch and fledge. That totals 15 infertile eggs this season. I've never even had one that was infertile before.
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