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Why would a bird abandon eggs in a nest?? (1 Viewer)

Humanegal

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Hi; I am new to this website/forum. I was trying to find some answers about a Cardinal we have near a quiet bedroom window. She has been sitting on her nest for well over a week, all of the sudden she abandons the nest completely--with about 3 eggs or so in it. I don't understand why this happened , and if there is anything I can do about the eggs.
Thank you very much, any info. will help,Laura
 
Hi Laura,

A warm welcome to BirdForum from all the Moderators and Admin :t:

There could be several reasons but as I am not familiar with the Cardinal breeding habits I will leave it to others to comment. I'm afraid that if the eggs are abandoned then there is nothing you can do - nature I'm afraid.
 
Hello Laura and a warm welcome to you.

Nest disturbance is the biggest reason for a bird to abandon its nest. If it feels threatened by another animal or human it will leave.
 
Question: were you able to see all the eggs? I'm wondering if one was a cowbird egg and the Cardinal recognized that it wasn't one of hers so abandoned the nest. Nortern Cardinals are targets by Brown-headed Cowbirds but this varies from one part of it's range to another. Just a thought.
 
:clap: Hello; Thank you so much for the warm welcomes.I wrote about a cardinal abandoning 3 eggs in a nest. Yes, I guess I see there is nothing I can do. The eggs appear to be beige-ish with brown spots. The really odd and sad thing is, I found her( or some female cardinal)just recently dead in the street. So, I feel really awful now. This is just so odd, all of this. I am totally mystified with what has transpired. First the abandoning then, finding a /the female cardinal dead --possibly hit by a car? SAD!
Thank you again,Laura
 
Hi; I am new to this website/forum. I was trying to find some answers about a Cardinal we have near a quiet bedroom window. She has been sitting on her nest for well over a week, all of the sudden she abandons the nest completely--with about 3 eggs or so in it. I don't understand why this happened , and if there is anything I can do about the eggs.
Thank you very much, any info. will help,Laura
I found your post because I had a similar problem. This female cardinal had laid a nest of 3. Then along came a female cowbird, & then there were four. She still laid on her nest until one day, I peaked in the direction, but did not see her. I looked closer, & only saw 2 eggs. So, when I looked at the ground below, I saw her dead, with no obvious signs of any damage, other than some ants eating her eyes. I saw 1 egg intact, & the other broken in half. It looks as if she just keeled over & died. Very strange! & I was so looking forward to seeing some young Cardinals around! :(
 
There are many reasons way so many of our feathered friends are just dropping dead. It sickens me to think of the losses of such wonders but I hate to say it, most of the time, it is our fault from disturbing them, pestacides and our personal pets. The best thing we can do is provide a safe place such as bird houses and feeders for them in hopes of helping.
 
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