Pam: I have no comment on the mating preferences of woodpeckes, but with gnatcatchers I'll offer a comment. My observations tell me that once completed with lichens spider-webbed to the exterior, gnatcatcher nests are so cryptic that they literally disappear from sight, even before leaf-out. I would think that house wrens, being cavity nester home-wreckers, wouldn't bother with non-cavity nesting sites. Dan Best On May 8, 2015, at 4:26 PM, Pam Unger 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? ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]