No, not “birdzilla!” There are not avian kaiju rampaging through our back yard. Although that might be sort of cool. No, it’s the squirrels and gophers that are doing all of the damage.
Bird. Zillow. You know, that app and website where you can browse for your dream house off in the middle of someplace far better than the place you are now? The inspiration for one of the best Saturday Night Live bits in years?
If you’re a long-time reader you might remember many, many posts after the COVID quarantine lockdown started about the finches that had built a nest right outside out kitchen windows. Many, MANY posts.
This year there’s another pair of finches looking to build a nest out there.
Or maybe there are three pairs looking to build a nest each.
Fact #1 – there are a LOT of finches out there.
Fact #2 – there are at least three separate nests in various stages of construction. There might be as many as five, hard to tell up there in the rafters and speakers and vines.
Fact #3 – last year’s nest is not being used, but is being picked apart for building materials.
I don’t know if the pair from last year is the one or one of the ones from this year. Little monsters refuse to wear name tags like I ask, but boy do they get pissed off if they’re not fed every day!
The only nest that I can clearly see is one that had the foundation of an old nest from before we moved in three years ago, but which has been substantially built up over the past couple of weeks. It’s growing almost every day, and we see several birds up there all day long. But when I took a look today:
It’s newly made, but there’s no sign of occupation or eggs.
Maybe in one of the other nests or nests-in-progress? Who knows.
But my current theory is that it might be just one pair (with PLENTY of other finches nesting elsewhere nearby in the trees or neighbor houses) and they’re not able to pick a spot, make an offer, open up escrow, and finish up the nest. They’re on “bird Zillow” and every spot they see is great, right up until they look at the next one and it might be just a tiny little bit better, and then they look at the next one…
Paralysis by analysis. It’s not just for humans with a smart phone any more.
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 
There are several species where the male builds the nest and takes his intended round them all to make her choice. And if she doesn’t like any of them, she’ll go off with another chap!
Others with more settled pairings may make two or three nests just in case. I think they sometimes use a previously discarded nest for a second brood.
So, I hope your Bird Zillow caters for all tastes!
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