Was foul play involved in the disappearance of a mama duck and her 11 eggs?

Duck sat on the nest for several weeks, then suddenly she and the eggs disappeared. Did something get into the nest and take the eggs, or was something else going on?

DEAR JOAN: What most likely happened to the duck and her 11 eggs that had taken up residence in a secluded place in our friends’ Palo Alto garden?

She was nesting the eggs for several weeks, leaving them occasionally and then returning to sit on them. This morning there was no sign of the eggs or the duck, and no signs of trauma. Any ideas?

John, Bay Area

DEAR JOHN: Although this sounds like something ominous happened to the duck and the eggs, there are signs to indicate it was all perfectly innocent and in keeping with nature.

Duck eggs incubate for about 28 days before they hatch. The eggs are laid, one at a time, and mama duck doesn’t start sitting on them full time until after she’s laid her last egg.

The eggs will hatch around the same time, all the others making an appearance within 24 to 48 hours of the first one emerging from its egg. The ducklings will spend about 10 hours in the nest, then mama duck will lead them to water, usually early in the morning.

Rats, squirrels, raccoons, skunks and even dogs will eat empty shells, or, with 11 ducklings in the nest, the empty shells might have been trampled and crushed. Some birds also remove the shells.

A predator could have gotten to the eggs or the ducklings, but as there were no signs of a struggle and it appears to have been enough time for the eggs to have hatched, I’ll keep a positive thought that all is well.

DEAR JOAN: I was at the De Anza College flea market in Cupertino on May 4, and I saw what I think was a Western bluebird. At first, I thought it was a blue scrub-jay but this bluebird I saw was a beautiful, stunning blue with a rusty red-orange colored chest. It was flying among the campus trees and flew away very quickly.

I’ve lived in the San Jose-Santa Clara area for 55 years and have never seen a Western bluebird before.

I did a little research on them and found out they are migratory but will stay in the general area year round.

I feel blessed that I was able to witness such a pretty bird. Maybe I’ll see it again sometime.

Michele Heemskerk, Campbell

DEAR MICHELE: I still remember the first time I saw a Western bluebird. I didn’t know such a beautiful color of blue existed, and even after several years, my heart still lifts every time I see one.

Western bluebirds have had a bit of a hard time. They are cavity nesters, but development and loss of habitat has made it difficult for them to find housing. They also must compete with other cavity nesting birds.

The California Western Bluebird Recovery Program was founded in 1996 to assist the bluebirds and other cavity nesting birds. Volunteers install nesting boxes and monitor them. The program now has more than 5,000 boxes and the number of hatchlings continues to rise, so your odds of seeing more are improving, too.

DEAR JOAN: Do the small black gnats that show up when it’s warm and damp outside give our pets a rash?

S. Sprague, Concord

DEAR S.: Some insects that we group under the generic name of gnats will bite pets, and if your dog is allergic, it can develop a rash. A trip to the vet should give you answers.