Expert: Roger Lederer - 5/25/2007

Question
Cardinals built a nest in a camellia bush next to my front door.  The mama began sitting in it about 5 days ago.  This morning, the nest and eggs were on the ground, along with several red feathers.  I put the eggs back in the nest, and put the nest back in the bush.  Do you think the mother will come back?  Is there anything else I can do?

Answer
Well, since I can only guess at what happened, I can't give you a specific answer. If a predator (cat, dog, raccoon) got the mother, there is no hope. If the mother has not been sitting on the eggs for a few hours or more, it is likely the eggs will not develop as once incubation begins, it has to be more or less continuous. You did the right thing (touching the eggs and nest will not cause the mother to abandon it). But if you haven't seen the mom since this morning, I suspect that these eggs are no good now. Thanks for your concern. Roger Lederer at Ornithology.com