View from the Empty Nest: The Secret in the Bluebirds' Nest

An Empty Nest Reveals a Story

When we moved to the Georgia Mountains I was delighted to see not only a bluebird box in the back yard, but a pair of bluebirds making regular visits to it. Each year since, we have had a family of bluebirds in the box, but last summer something happened. At the end of the summer, when I went to clean out the box, I found 3 unhatched eggs.

Our summer had been extremely dry and some local naturalists thought perhaps the parents had abandoned the nest because they were having trouble finding enough food to support the babies.

This spring, I watched to see if the bluebirds would return. Instead, we had a pair of chickadees move in and begin building. So I decided to research chickadees. Aside from the fact that bluebirds and chickadees have similar nesting habitats, I discovered a fun fact. Chickadees will build a few nests and then settle in the one that seems safest. Huh!

One day there was a ruckus outside. The bluebirds had returned and wanted their home back. I watched the battle ensue wondering who would win.

A week later, the blue birds were busy making a nest! It was time to start tracking the bluebirds nesting progress. Bluebirds don't object to you checking their nest. In fact there's a whole list of things to watch for as the nesting process moves forward. You can read more about that, here.

When our daughters' and families visited, the nest was still active, with mama and papa busily bringing food back to the babies.

I knew the time was coming for them to fledge, but one day I could really hear the babies chirping inside the nest, and then I saw their little faces pop up in the entrance as they checked out the world outside. Time was near.

The big moment came on the day three young bluebirds fledged from the nest. It is so cool to see their first flight. The best part was that my daughter was here and her camera caught all three in first flight.

All this is a nice story, but there was a surprise waiting for me when I checked the vacated nest.

Two chickadee eggs were embedded in the bottom of the nest. Chickadees will lay eggs and then cover them with feathers when they aren't around. Apparently, these eggs were already laid, when the bluebirds demanded their house back. The chickadees abandoned the nest, leaving the eggs behind. The bluebirds built their nest right over the chickadee nest. The eggs must have migrated down through the bottom nest because they were visible when I opened the box.