Expert: Julia Booth - 6/11/2008

Question
Eastern Phoebes have been making their home under the eaves in our carport for years. This year they haven't had good luck. The first set of five babies died -- we found three on the ground, and two just disappeared. We thought perhaps they died because the nest was too small to hold five birds. We were thrilled when the birds laid another clutch. Again, five chicks were born. The momma bird has been tending to them regularly and they seemed to be doing very well. Although one chick either fell or was pushed out of the nest, the rest were healthy and growing. They are about 10 days old. But this morning we noticed they weren't moving. The momma bird has been trying to feed them and has been chirping at them, but she gets no response. It appears all the the babies are dead in the nest. It's just heartbreaking. Any idea what is causing this and what we can do to prevent it? It doesn't look like the nest was raided. The babies just died.

Answer
Is the carport enclosed? The chicks may be more sensitive to the carbon monoxide that is released from your car whenever you start it.

Other than that, I have no idea why the babies aren't surviving. Phoebes will typically have 2-3 brood per season and will actually lay eggs on top of dead ones AND dead babies (gross, I know)It's possible that whatever killed the initial brood is contagious or can spread -like mites or parasites. I would remove the nest to discourage her from using it again, since it's obviously not working.

Consider putting out some nesting boxes for them. Here's a good website on that: http://www.birdhouses101.com/eastern-phoebe.asp