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I was away for a few days and came back to a large amount of grass and straw and other building materials on the front porch and a smaller amount of similar debris on the porch light above. I assumed a bird was attempting to build a nest and maybe another larger bird attacked it and destroyed everything? So I cleaned it up completely. The next day I came back to the exact same situation so I thought, OK maybe this is the way a certain bird builds a nest and I left it for about a week. Nothing happened, so I cleaned it up again. Then about five days later, today, I saw the same thing again and I took these two photos. Of note we have had many house wrens build nests on top of these lights but those nests just appear complete and intact in one day. So this is something very different. Any ideas? You must be logged in to reply to this topic. -
An American Robin was trying to nest on your light. If you observe this again please let it keep building. They very often successfully nest on top of porch lights and it could take them a while to get the nest right, especially if this is their first nesting attempt in their life. You will find this article helpful: There's a Bird Nesting Near my House. What should I do? If you want to help the American Robins out for next year and you'd rather them not building on your light you can provide them with a nesting platform that is nearby where they were trying to nest. NestWatch American Robin nest structure plan and info. This is a species that is on the decline in many states so they could really use your helps. Thanks for caring and asking. --Lee Ann van Leer Bird Academy Project Assistant
I was away for a few days and came back to a large amount of grass and straw and other building materials on the front porch and a smaller amount of similar debris on the porch light above. I assumed a bird was attempting to build a nest and maybe another larger bird attacked it and destroyed everything? So I cleaned it up completely. The next day I came back to the exact same situation so I thought, OK maybe this is the way a certain bird builds a nest and I left it for about a week. Nothing happened, so I cleaned it up again. Then about five days later, today, I saw the same thing again and I took these two photos. Of note we have had many house wrens build nests on top of these lights but those nests just appear complete and intact in one day. So this is something very different. Any ideas?