A Bad Year for Bluebirds

When I left for Myrtle Beach two weeks ago the bluebirds had four eggs in thier nest. It was the second try at a brood this summer. The first batch of eggs were simply abandoned for some reasons; she never really incubated them, and after waiting almost a month (they're suppose to take 17-19 days) I cleaned the box out and threw the nest and eggs away.

On June 21 momma bluebird had just begun sitting on the nest and we were looking forward to batch of babies sometime in around July 8 or 9. We've had baby bluebirds for five of the last six years, and one year we had two broods.

But the nest was empty when we got home on the 28th.

Since the bluebird box was latched, I figure a human took the eggs. One of my neighbors tells me a neighborhood boy (age 8 or 9) spent some time in our yard while we were gone. But I suppose there are other possible solutions to the mystery of the eggs that disappeared...