Red Winged Blackbird Eggs abandoned? (1 Viewer)

On May 24 I noticed four beautiful eggs in a nest planted among reeds at our pond. I went back today hoping to catch a glimpse of the nestlings but saw the eggs remained. A closer look revealed them to be the same clutch (one has a distinct pitchfork symbol!). They were cold to the touch and I have to admit when walking by I've never seen a mother fly out. To my understanding the incubation period is 11 days, give or take, and since it's been something like 16 I brought a flashlight, waded out, and candled them underneath a sweater. I heard a blackbird nearby but we have a ton of nests at the pond, it's hard to say if he was chirping about that particular one.

Photo

I put them back despite the cold and lack of any scolding from a nearby parent. Please tell me it's possible they're just late...?

From what you've said, it sounds like the nest has been abandoned alright. It happens sometimes, particularly if the nest has been disturbed.

Oh no.

There's a lot of activity near the pond - frequent tractor driving and so forth. It seems odd that she'd incubate that long and then just leave though...or am I not interpreting the photo correctly? I can't tell if the bottom halves are yolks. Which is kind of embarrassing.

Those eggs aren´t incubated. Presumarly the bird abandoned right after laying the full clutch.
It´s not the same if vehicles drive near a nest or someone step near it and check the nest content.

I must admit that breaks my heart. It's odd as I have seen the male from the kitchen window fighting off crows. And with binoculars I on the top of the slope I can see the eggs have been moved around since I saw them. I compared photos from that day and today and the eggs are entirely moved around (again, distinct markings/lines/spots). Wouldn't abandonment be immediate if it had anything to do with me?

It's amazing how dedicated other birds are. Sometimes we move pine trees from one field to another and realize after its transplanted there's a nest of eggs in there. But the mother finds them. I have no idea how but it's truly amazing.

Edit: I should add the obnoxious tractors were no closer than I was standing to look in - the nest is lower down.