Sometimes it takes 4 or 5 days after the nest is built for the blues to start laying eggs. I strung fishing line on either side of the entrance hole. I used 4 tacks...two on the top on either side of the hole and two on the bottom. Just wrap the fishing line around the tacks on either side of the hole, close to the opening but of courses not blocking it. I found out how to do it online. I leave it there all of the time. That is supposed to help. I also use a sparrow spooker after the first egg is laid. I have 3 baby blues now.

Hi Janie... I remember you from my early years on this forum. It's been a long time but I've recently been coming back and reading posts and getting reacquainted again. I remember Bluebars too and Vonda (and a few others)...and does Malinda still post here? Anyway, I miss my blues so much (my ex-husband is holding them "hostage" at my previous residence...I did one thing right and that was teach him how to take care of them.) I guess they come back every year and for that I'm grateful because I left that legacy to the neighborhood. I taught everyone about the blues and they keep coming back every year. Now I if could only get so lucky and get some at my current house.

My sister just called me with a similar problem with the phoebe nest on her deck. The first thing that came to my mind was the cowbird. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this notorious brood parasite. Even though the cowbirds most common host is the yellow warbler, the brown-headed cowbird often targets Eastern phoebes for its host. I've actually seen female cowbirds egg-dump phoebe nests. It's an extremely fast process. Now before people have evil thoughts towards the brown-headed cowbird, I have to say this: it's not the cowbirds fault... Cowbirds evolved following roaming buffalo herds around, and therefore developed a breeding strategy (brood parasitism) that allowed them to do so. The cowbird used to be an uncommon species here in the northeast, but during the 17 and 1800s almost all forests were cut down for farmland. Since cowbirds are an open spaces/prairie species, this is the perfect habitat for them. They also like edge habitat (powerlines, forest edges etc.) So, I told my sister to keep watching the nest for a cowbird chick. The young, a week or two along, should be larger, louder and healthier by far than the others. It's more agressive behavior as a nestling makes it sure that it gets fed at the expense (often fatal) of the others. So if the young in a nest all look and sound the same, chances are it "cowbird-free."

You might consider posting a message next door on the Bluebird forum as well. I'm no expert by any means, but Mom will usually lay one egg per day until the clutch is complete, or there could possibly be two or three days...it could be that Mom is around and you've just missed her. How long have you observed just the one egg? Donna