I have seen them dismantle nests and move them to other locations.
Especially for 2nd broods.  I was at a location near East Liberty where I
had photographs of a female on the nest.  They had put it really close to a
platform.  I imagine that when they picked the nest sight, there wasn't as
much people traffic.  I came back a few weeks later, and they were busy
dismantling the nest and relocating it to a sight far away from the
platform.  So it's not unusual for them to change a nesting site.

No as far as a Woodpecker having issues with finding a mate...you got me
there. :-D

Happy Birding and God bless,

Steve J.
On May 8, 2015 4:26 PM, "Pam Unger" <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>     This Spring in the Moses Wright Nature Area (a mini-preserve on the
> side of Dublin-Granville Rd. in Old Wrothington) I've witnessed 2 separate
> events that I've seen in the past but convinced myself my eyes were
> deceiving me.  Now I'm sure.    ONE:  The Tale of the Mysterious
> Disappearance.  I'd been watching a pair of blue gray gnatcatchers building
> their beautiful little nest--sort of like a giant hummingbird nest--high in
> a big old tree that hadn't yet leafed out.  They appeared to be putting the
> finishing touches on it.  Last time I went, expecting to see the female
> brooding on this masterpiece . . . it was GONE.  Now, I know that male
> house wrens construct a number of make-shift nests to display to their
> wives, and I know that the wives reject these poor efforts but condescend
> to take one apart and rebuild it satisfactorily.  But the gnatcatcher nest
> was a joint effort and appeared perfect.  They didn't just abandon it--they
> totally disassembled it.  What's up with that?
>     TWO:  A Tale of Forbidden Love.  I witnessed an apparently consensual
> mating between a flicker (presumably female) and a male red-bellied
> woodpecker.  Honest!  Same thing happened in Greenlawn Cemetery a couple of
> years ago, but I never told anyone because I didn't believe it myself!
>     Any explanations would be welcome.
>
>
>
>
>  There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth.  --Rumi
>
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