Unidentified Flying Object

[Muddypause]

I've been having a bit of a clear out behind the shed, and as I was dealing with a clematis that had taken over the neighbourhood I found this abandoned nest, still with eggs in it. Anybody able to identify the bird?

The nest is small, the central hole being about 50mm diameter, made of moss and twigs lined with hair, and the eggs are about 15mm long, pale blue with no other markings.

Normal visitors to this urban garden are blackbirds, sparrows, the odd robin, and very occasionally a great tit. This nest belongs to none of them; what else has been here?

Click for larger images:

[Magpie]

I'm not an expert on these things by any means, but it does look like a starling's nest and eggs we had at our place a while ago.

[Millymollymandy]

Wouldn't that be a bit too small for a starling's nest? The only ones I know because I have kept recent abandoned ones are blackbird's and something else's nests - your one is about the size of the something else but there are lots of robins in that part of the garden.

[Muddypause]

I don't think it's a starling - the eggs are real tiddlers; compare them to my thumb nail in the picture.

They're also the wrong colour for a robin, whose eggs are pale, speckled with brown freckles (and besides, the nest wasn't in an old kettle).

I think it must be a somethingelse.

[Millymollymandy]

The "something else" nest I originally thought might be a wren's nest, but then we have a wren's nest in our wood shed and it's completely different - built into a corner up by the ceiling so it's got a hole on the side where Mrs Wren goes in.

That's something my bird books don't go into - eggs or much about nests unless they are very unusual shaped nests. I have seen many abandoned nests about that size. Maybe it is a wren. We have loads of them.

[Muddypause]

Elsewhere on the internet I am advised my nest is that of a dunnock

[Millymollymandy]

Aha, I've got lots of them too!