egg incubation (1 Viewer)

....so I'm pretty ignorant on such matters....but a blackbird has built a nest on a ledge just outside my back door. She has laid at least 2 eggs, however it seems that she is not on the nest overnight....only on occasions during the day. Once laid, does she have to be on the nest pretty much 24/7 for the eggs to hatch? or are her prolonged periods of absence (probably due to signs of human activity from the house?) likely to mean they will not hatch?

kev

Greetings Kev and on behalf of staff and moderators a warm welcome to Birdforum. :t:

I have moved your thread to another subforum so as to hopefully get more responses to your inquiry and subscribed you to the thread, so check your email for notifications of any responses.

Hi kev and a warm welcome from me too.

Blackbirds lay 3-5 eggs as a rule. Now I'm not 100% sure about them, but I think they won't incubate the eggs until the clutch is complete. A lot of the smaller species do this then they all hatch together.

Raptors and owls etc start incubating immediately the first egg is laid so there is a succession of hatchings. Unfortunately the last born may not survive if there is a shortage of food.

Keep us posted on what happens please.

Seconded Delia, Pat