Sadly, I don't have good news in regard to the robin's nest that I wrote about last weekend. Since we found the eggs on the ground and we replaced them in the nest, we haven't seen the mama robin return. Several things might have happened:
- Mama could have met with an ill fate while she was away from the nest.
- Mama may have returned to the nest during the time when the eggs were on the ground and seeing none, abandoned it.
- A predator could have invaded the nest and destroyed the eggs before Mama could get to them.
We'll never know for sure, but when I went out to check on them yesterday, another broken egg was on the ground, along with an intact one. The broken one still contained the yolk, with no signs of development. There was also a broken one in the nest, which made me think a predator had gotten to them.
The most likely culprit is the brown-headed cowbird that we've seen at a nearby feeder. This bird is known for taking over the nests of other birds and will destroy eggs.
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| Brown-headed cowbird |
Sad, but also a part of everyday life out in the wild.
"Bejeweled"
4 comments:
Aww. Beautiful blue eggs and a neat nest. Nature is amazing but the predator part is part of it too I guess.
Kids Math Teacher
Oh....so sad, but at least you tried. It's all part of Mother Nature. Thanks for giving us this update.
So sorry to see a nest but such is nature at times. We have an issue with hawks, cats, etc. I was shocked at how early we had babys leave the nest this year. Was fun watching them as they were on the front porch. We currently have a Phoebe nest in the carport, chickadee in a gourd house and Blue birds on eggs in a house. Our gardens are busting with birds...
Sometimes I hate to see Nature's way, but I do understand it. One day I saw a monarch butterfly acting strangley. As I got close, it turns out that a praying mantis was eating the poor thing! I was not happy with that one. I told him he was welcome in my garden if he would only eat bad bugs and not butterflies, bees, or hummingbirds!
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