This year we were delighted to have Eastern Bluebirds move into one of our houses. They eventually had chicks, and they were about to fledge. We left for a day, and the next day we returned. Unfortunately, neither chicks nor adults were present. No fledglings, no egg shells on the ground, no adults, and the box was empty. We don't even have any house sparrows around. Does anybody have an explanation?
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Disappearing Nestlings and Adults? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter AidenD
- Start date
MTem
Well-known member
Sorry, but what makes you think they didn't just fledge normally?
If they were able to fly then they'd all just go in a few minutes, often just around dawn, and the adults would take them away from the nest to safer habitat with more food straight away.
And you rarely find eggshells as the adults will eat them for their mineral content, or they get crushed to dust in the nest.
Mick
If they were able to fly then they'd all just go in a few minutes, often just around dawn, and the adults would take them away from the nest to safer habitat with more food straight away.
And you rarely find eggshells as the adults will eat them for their mineral content, or they get crushed to dust in the nest.
Mick
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Yep, sounds just like they fledged to me too.
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birdmeister
Well-known member
I thought that perhaps Eastern Bluebirds would stick around a bit longer, but it sounds as if they fledged and quickly left.
I think it is more common for Tree Swallows to leave immediately than for bluebirds. The box in my yard fledged one Tree Swallow chick this year. It fledged in the morning and stayed in one bush (about 50 ft. from the box) for the entire day and night. Early the next morning I watched it take off from the bush and quickly gain altitude to join its parent. At that point I had to go back in the house, but I have only seen maybe one Tree Swallow since then. I suspect the fledgling went to a reservoir a few miles away, as that is a staging site for several swallow species.
MTem
Well-known member
Well obviously I have no direct experience of nest-box fledged Eastern Bluebirds, but all the passerines that use my (20 or so) nest boxes will just 'disappear' from the boxes overnight - well apart from the odd one that never leaves and stays in the box to starve to death. I have one camera box, used by Blue tits solely up to now, and I have never actually been able to see them leave. Even when I got up at 5am they had already all gone (8 of them), having been there at 11pm the previous evening.
They don't always go that far. It depends on the food sources, and threats nearby. The tits often just go into the nearest oak tree, but unless you know the contact calls it is virtually impossible to see them in the foliage.
Mick
J_Hernandez23
New member
Hi, I'm Very New To This But I Have A Question. Just Today My Family And I Discovered A Nest In Our Front Yard. We Left For A Few Hours, When We Came Back The Tree Branch It Was On Broke. The Momma Bird Is Nowhere To Be Found And The Nest Along With Babies Are Still Intact But It Is Night Now. I Don't Know What To Do.
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Is This A Wind Up?
If the parent(s) is missing and the nest all but destroyed, the young birds will die unless they're old enough to feed themselves.
A
If the parent(s) is missing and the nest all but destroyed, the young birds will die unless they're old enough to feed themselves.
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