whats removed my black bird's eggs

[lyall]

i watched with interest as a pair of black birds built a nest in my garden, its pushed right against my garage window so iv had a very good view of the progress of the birds. last week it had 3 eggs in it, the mammy bird has been sitting nearly all the time and i was sure that the eggs were ready for hatching, but today the mammy has not been on or near the nest and only one egg remains, there are no egg shells in the nest or surrounding area, im pretty sure its not a cat because the bush is just too dense, so whats had them? can anyone shed any light.

[tetherend]

Perhaps a hungry fox or another bird known to steal from other bird's nests, is it a Magpie?

[ratbag66]

If the eggs weren't viable, or the birds felt threatened in any way, they themselves may have destroyed and eaten the eggs.

[lyall]

thanks for your answers, the nearest fox iv seen is just over 4 miles away, but i doubt if the bush would have held its weight, iv not seen a magpie too close to where i live, it could be possible if they travel a fair distance. it is possible they could have destroyed the eggs themselves but the remaining egg looks perfect so why leave it? i think i'll have to put it down to one of lifes mysteries, i hope my birds find a safer spot next time.

[mrs.pudding]

Perhaps a squirrel?  They're quite partial to eggs as are rats.  And rats can climb quite successfully if it's worth their while

[FP]

I would think that a rat is the culprit.  They carry off whole eggs, so that is why you can't see any eggshell.

[lyall]

never thought about rats!!!!!!!! how do i get rid of rats preferably without poison

[FP]

Difficult without poison lyall.  I live in the countryside near a farm and rats are plentiful.  We do shoot them when they appear at our birdtables, which is more humane than poison, but they are very clever little creatures and mostly avoid being seen.  Unfortunately, we do have to resort to poison (well concealed under tiles, etc. so that other animals cannot get to it), because our country rats are rather fond of moving into our loft in the winter!

Are you in the UK?  Councils will treat rat problems in urban areas, but they charge these days.  Our council will only treat rats in rural areas if they actually get into your home, because it's virtually impossible to do anything about rats living in the fields, etc. 

However, it's only an educated guess that it was a rat that took the eggs.   It's not nice when this happens, but I'm afraid you have to accept it as part of nature.  A few years ago a Jay devasted all our nests and created havoc in our gardens all spring  and summer.  He even attacked us!