Birding/Quail nesting

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Expert: Bluebird Bob Walshaw - 7/14/2011


Question
We have a quail who has laid 13 eggs in our above ground garden.  She has been sitting on the nest for over 2 months and no babies. What should we do?  We live in Arizona and have been providing water daily, but something is wrong.

Answer
Unfortunately this is not unusual in the bird world. For some reason eggs are sometimes infertile. In our Bluebird work eggs are supposed to hatch in 12 to 14 days. We wait an extra week and then remove the nest and destroy the eggs which usually triggers renesting. I would do the same with the Quail nest.  

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Bluebird Bob Walshaw

Expertise

I can answer almost any question on Eastern Bluebirds and small cavity nesters such as Chickadees, Titmice, Wrens, etc. Also general questions on other songbirds. No pet bird questions please.

Experience

I have had a 100+ nestbox trail for more than 20 years, I do a lot of writing, public speaking and educational work in this field. My hands-on Bluebird talks include more than 1000 people each year.

Organizations
Oklahoma Bluebird Society, North American Bluebird Society, National Audubon Society, Oklahoma Audubon Society, Oklahoma Fur Bearers Alliance

Publications
Bluebird Magazine, Oklahoma Today, Fur-Fish-Game, Birds & Blooms, Nature Society News,Back Woodsman Magazine, Tulsa World, Broken Arrow ledger, Teaching Tolerance magazine,Trappers World, OK Hole Story, Birders World

Education/Credentials
Degree in Mechanical Engineering, an MBA, Graduate of the Home Study Course in Bird Biology from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Oklahoma Master Naturalist. I am also a pofessional speaker and writer.

Awards and Honors
Chosen as a public speaker for the North American Bluebird Society, Bluebird trail accepted as part of the Transcontinental Bluebird Trail, Chosen as a panel speaker at the 2006 NABS Convention.

Past/Present Clients
Many

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