I have “Empty Nest Syndrome”. But, not the kind where your children leave home, and you miss them. In fact, now that mine have their own houses, I may actually tell them where I live! No, my ENS involves a big abandoned platform sitting high up in the oak tree outside my bedroom window. I don’t know if it was built by bird or mammal, but it’s enormous. I’ve been watching it everyday for a year, and nothing seems to be living there, although I did see a wild turkey standing on it at dusk one day this past winter. I didn’t take it seriously, as my guidebook assures me that gobblers nest on the ground. I figured it was just being employed as a lookout tower, or convenient roosting perch. So, what’s the story here?

It got me to thinking about the whys and hows of critter construction. Last fall, I watched a female squirrel carry leaves, a mouthful at a time, up to an opening in a tree that had been created by lightning striking and amputating a large limb. And, I got a close up look at a woodpecker’s former abode when one of my dying hemlocks fell to the ground, revealing the cavity. How do animals find and decide where to settle down? Do they just roam around until they see something that looks promising, or is there a Tree Real Estate listing somewhere that humans can’t decipher?

“Cozy apartment to let. Excellent views. Newly insulated with state-of-the-forest materials. Convenient to acorn piles, hopping distance to choice of berry bushes. No fledglings, please.”

Or, is it “word of mouth”?

“Hey, Yogi. I heard a big tree fall in the woods last week, and it seems that it was rotten in the middle. Boo told me you were thinking of a larger den for this year’s hibernation, and I thought of you. I know a guy who knows a guy, if you’re interested in checking it out.”

Anyway, here we are with this very roomy, sturdy and available potential home for some nice young couple to settle in and raise their family. Since it’s eye-level to my upstairs window, I could get a great view of whole experience with my binoculars. How great would it be to observe a family of red-tails or owls? I wonder why it’s not occupied? Is there something wrong with it that I can’t see? I can’t imagine that it would need too much work to make it livable.

Does anyone know how to contact “This Old Nest”?