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Birding/eggs in abandodned bird nest

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Expert: - 7/23/2010


Question
A pair of doves laid eggs in my hanging flower basket. This morning I find the dove in my dogs mouth! The eggs are in the nest, but the mate has not come to sit on them. Are they now abandoned? I have a tree in my front yard that has a nest with eggs that are being sat on. Should I move the abandoned eggs to the nest in the tree? How long can the eggs be left and still survive?

Answer
Do not move the eggs to the other nest; that might make the other pair of birds abandon their nest. If the eggs in the hanging flower basket have been incubated but have not been sat on for several hours, the eggs are most likely bad. After incubation starts, they can only be abandoned for a few hours before they go bad.

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Roger Lederer

Expertise

Any and all about WILD birds - the science of ornithology. Information about birdwatching, ecology, conservation, migration, behavior, banding, rehabilitation, feeding, songs, binoculars, identification, and careers in ornithology. No questions about pet or caged birds, please.

Experience

Have a PhD and over forty years as a professional ornithologist - research, teaching, author, speaker, webmaster of Ornithology.com . Have written thirty scientific papers, three bird field guides, a textbook in ecology and two recent books entitled "Amazing Birds" and "Birds of New England". Have traveled to over 90 countries watching birds.

Education/Credentials
PhD in Zoology/Ornithology; Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences; former Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at California State University, Chico

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