Spring!! Eggs in nest!!

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

I found my first birds nest with new eggs this Spring! I had seen them building the nest for around 2 weeks. Then one day-no eggs- Next day-Eggs! Don't know what kind of bird? The egss are light blue with a few freckles(spots)! It's under my carport in a old mailbox on the wall. I have fake flowers in it to make it look like a planter!LOL

How exciting!

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Fort Worth, TX(Zone 8a)

What a colorful nest! Will be fun to watch, I'm sure.

Wells, TX(Zone 8b)

look like robins eggs to me.. although some sparrow eggs I have seen will have a light blue cast to them... Robins eggs are more of a sky blue.. Ive Chickadees nesting in one of my birdhouses already

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

There's FOUR eggs now! Cool

Wells, TX(Zone 8b)

great... now please take more pics!! we love pics!!!
while living in Detroit , in the 80s, as an experiment they placed falcon pairs on some of the high rises to try to get rid of the huge amount of pigeons. They placed video cameras so you could watch the parents activity and to see chicks grow on line.. it was so much fun to see them grow, almost inches daily it seemed, and learn to fly.. the experiment was a success cause the chicks have come back to roost and raise families of their own now..

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

Here is it now with 4 eggs! I didn't know they laid them at different times? How many will they lay?

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The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a)

I believe that is a house finch nest. Please see http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Finch/lifehistory
Watch carefully and I'm sure you'll see them around. We have a pair nesting on top of an outdoor light by our garage, under the eave.

Wells, TX(Zone 8b)

youre right.. looking at the way the nest is constucted.. Ive several nestslike that that were constucted with horse tail that Ive saved.. its hard to get an idea of size from the pick...dont be suprized if they desert it.. if theres to much activity they will just leave it and start over even after laying eggs

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

It looks like it except for the red on its chest. I haven't seen any red on these.
It made its nest right there in the carport where we park. Not only that,my two boys park their bike there, they always have. I was surprised when they nested there last year. lizards got the eggs then. Some eggs were broken inside the nest and some were gone.
Maybe it's still too cold for the lizards and the eggs will have a chance!

The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a)

The females don't have any red. Just streaked brown... And the red on the males is quite variable, depending on their diet. Here's a photo of the female - scroll down a little bit. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/house_finch/id

Are you sure it was lizards? They are insect eaters. I would suspect house sparrows first, and four legged critters second.

This message was edited Mar 21, 2010 3:48 PM

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

Yeah that's her! Lizards is all I could come up with. They nest is in an old mailbox ( the mail used to be put in that a long time ago ) up on the outside wall. I have to stand on tippy toes to look inside it. I don't think a cat or squirell could get to it. Maybe other birds? The greyish black lizards that look like they should be in the desert?
You got me wondering what in the world it could have been.

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

FIVE eggs now. My goodness how long does it take them to lay all their eggs? I noticed the first ones around the 16th or 17th. I noticed the 5th egg yesterday. So that's at least 5-6 days of laying!
It says that it takes around 13-14 days to hatch, so if all goes well, I'm thinking around the 30th I should see some baby birds!


This message was edited Mar 22, 2010 1:32 PM

The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a)

They probably lay one egg a day. That's the norm for birds.

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

They started hatching 3-31. The last egg hatched on 04-3.

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San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

The first one is hungry!!

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POTTSBORO, TX(Zone 7b)

Neat--keep us posted

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

Out of the five- only one is left.
They started getting a big green pocket growing in them and then they began to die? I'm wonder if the mommy bird is feeding them stuff from yards that have been fertilized?
here's a picture of one with the green thing

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The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a)

That is so sad...

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

Update!!
I have one still alive! I guess 5 was going to be too much for the nest and the mother!
Look how big this one is. There's no way 5 could have been in that nest!

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The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a)

You'd be surprised...

Rowlett, TX(Zone 8a)

How cute. I'm so glad one survived -- here's hoping it makes it to adulthood.

Carla

Wells, TX(Zone 8b)

years ago when I was new to photography and took pics of EVERYTHING I had a nest of cardinals I could see from my bathroom window.. I couldnt get a good pic of them.. I tried for a couple of weeks and it just wasnt happening.. so I took a ladder and set it up close to the nest, maybe about 10 ft away.. the angle was a lot better and I had a clear shot of them.. the mom was fussing a bit but not much.. I got the pic set up and pushed the button.. the flash went off and BAMMM!!! baby birds just EXPLODED out of that nest right, left all over the place.. Scared the crap out of me so much I almost fell off the ladder.. seems they were on the verge of fledging and the flash did it for them.. turns out there were 10 babys in the nest.. I ran around like a demented woman trying to get them back in the nest which wasnt about to happen now that they were out. I mean would you want to go back being crowded like that ??...lol..... In the mean time Mom and Dad are MAD and I mean MAD at me and Im getting dive bombed over and over again.. I finally got them all up in the lower branches of trees and bushes close by so they could still be fed by mom and dad. I saw them for about a week afterwards till they got big enough to fly on their own.. I sure learned my lesson...if youre gonna take pics of baby birds ready to fledge.. dont use a flash...lol....

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

The nest is right where I get out of my car. I have to get on my tip toes to see inside. But you are right, I better watch out:)

Austin, TX(Zone 8b)

blkraven2 - OMG, you made me LOL at your story. So descriptive.

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

I noticed the little thing was getting bigger and was starting to look like its mom, I just went out to take a picture and guess what???? It is gone!! I looked in on it right before lunch and it was there! They are there one minute and gone the next.
So out of 5 eggs that hatched (last one on 4-3), only one survived to fly off exactly 2 weeks later. I never knew that it was such a short period between egg and leaving the nest. That's pretty quick.

Wells, TX(Zone 8b)

look aound and watch for mom and dad.. it fledged but its in lower branches somewhere waiting for maom and dad to feed it still...

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

The only tree near is a mesquite. I'll try and look tomorrow, too many kids outside this evening and didn't think they'd be around.

Wells, TX(Zone 8b)

just look for anyplace it might be able to hide or hop up on.. they never go far when they fledge, they arent strong enough to really fly.. Last spring, Fiona my dog, found my baby blue jays.They had fledged and were in my azalea bushes .. a squirral tried to get one of them and mom and dad chased it off. I then kept an eye on them while mom and dad fed it for the next couple of days .. I could usually figure out where it was by how they were acting...

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Austin, TX(Zone 8b)

blkraven2 - OMG....how cute the little guy is.

Wells, TX(Zone 8b)

he lived in a nest right above my front porch last spring.. I was out with Fiona and didnt realize he had fledged .. She was fussing in the azalea bushes and got my attention and I found him on the ground under them.. I moved him to some low tree brances across from my house and mom amd dad took care of him till he could make it on his own.. chased squirrels away and everything..and of course I had to take a pic of him...lol..

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

Guess what?! About 2 days after the fledgling flew away, another bird built the nest up a bit, and started laying her eggs in the nest.
It took her 5 days to lay 5 eggs. I guess I'm about to have more! I hope more than one lives out of this bunch.

Here's a picture I took today of the eggs! You can see the baby bird poop from the last one!

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(Audrey) Dyersburg, TN(Zone 7a)

Where my daughter used to live there was a pair of birds that came back year after year, and built over the last years nest. They would hatch more than on clutch each year. The nest was in the door of the carport, right where they went inside!

The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a)

Probably the same bird. They'll have two or more broods per year.

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

You think it was the same bird that relayed eggs 3-4 days after her first batch flew away?
It is the same type of bird. I knew the time between laying the eggs and them hatching to when they flew away was only maybe 3 weeks. Can they lay more that quick?

South, TX

I love Bluejays!

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

I'd love it if a blue jay or cardinal built a nest where I could see:)

The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a)

The survivor fledged 4-17. That is plenty of time to begin a new nesting. Especially if the first was a failure. They didn't have to expend a lot of energy keeping all five alive.

My house finches are building a new nest over the outdoor lamp as I type this...

(And the 5 bluebirds have fledged and their parents will begin a new nest shortly too.)

San Angelo, TX(Zone 7b)

Wow mama birds stay busy!LOL

The Woodlands, TX(Zone 9a)

It's a survival of the species thing. Mortality is so high, that they have to reproduce in sufficient numbers to maintain the population. Yours only managed to produce one baby - not enough. They would have a second nesting (if they survived) anyway, but maybe the timing would have been further apart, since they continue to feed the babies for a little while after they fledge - until they are able to feed on their own.

My bluebirds have three nestings each year (3x5=15 babies). By the third one, both parents are looking sooo bedraggled! I can't help but feel sorry for them!

Dallas, TX

Please ... I cant read this entire thread to find out if the baby birds made it. Ejennings you are so clever with the flowers ... how pretty ... you should have that picture published.
Did they make it? My grandmother was very superstitious about bird's nest ... she had a hissy if we went anywhere near it! I often wonder what that was all about.

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