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Submitted By
Drew B.
Boiling Spring Lakes, NC, United States
Description
Three eggs have been laid so far and hatch-lings should be arriving within the following week.
Category
Species
Brown Thrashers 2017
I have been watching my brown thrashers. Their nest is 3 ft. or less off the ground in a large yew bush. The first 4 babies hatched, grew, and one fledged. I saw Dad feeding it around the yard. First time in 30 years of observing that I have seen a B. Th. baby. Mom began a new set of eggs , four, and I saw 2 or 3 of the 4 eggs hatched. In a few days the nest was empty.
My question. Is this poor rate of return on eggs laid normal for all birds, or are the beautiful B. Th. stupid? Or, what is going on? I know there are a lot of meat eaters out there. Is it bad
should I tear out the nest while it is empty, and try to force a new location? I love these beautiful birds.
Hi Barbara, Yes, it is normal for nests to fledge less young than there were eggs. In nature, bird nests succeed only about half of the time (success is defined as at least one young fledging from a nest, so your nest would be considered a success). This is one of the reasons why birds lay so many eggs and often have multiple broods per year – they are accounting for these inevitable losses. It sounds like a predator likely got this nest – there’s no need to move it. Birds are smart, and often avoid re-nesting in an area where they previously encountered a predator. That being said, this is more likely when they witness the predator attack themselves. If you have more questions, please feel free to email nestwatch@cornell.edu – these comment sections are not regularly monitored.