Another Nesting Season

I know that spring is here because the starlings are once again nesting in the attic of the workshop. The shop has metal siding and a metal, corregated roof. It seems that there must be a few gaps between the siding and the soffits because the starlings make several attempts at finding the gaps before disappearing under the eaves (presumably into the attic of the shop).
I watched this dance last spring, too. The females come to rest on whatever is available below the roof overhang (pipes, workbenches, blocks of styrofoam, whatever we've left there). At this time of year, they have nesting materials in their mouths, although later in the summer it is food for the young. With the added weight, they can't remain airborne too long. So they take running jumps at finding the gap their looking for. Literally, they fly upward with all their might only to discover they've come to the wrong place in the overhang (ie no gap). So they flutter downward and then heave themselves upward to a different spot. Over and over again until they have found the gap. They disappear into it (again, presumably into the attic where no doubt they have built an entire city, if the nest in the attic of our house is any indication) then reemerge a few minutes later to go off in search of more stuff. Then back again to start all over.
There is another clan of starlings that have found a gap in the shop's door frame, and I notice them disappearing into that hole - although there can't be much room in there for many.
The bird books describe the starling's "large roosting congregations" as problematic. Perhaps the giant nests in our attics are not uncommon. But the starlings do take nesting holes away from native species such as the Eastern Bluebird. Our nearby conservation area had an Eastern Bluebird Nesting Box workshop - these programs have helped the Eastern Bluebird recover. I couldn't make that workshop, but I've been thinking I'd like to learn to make birdhouses.
The robins haven't been nesting on our bedroom window, yet - I haven't seen the females around so maybe it's too early. Last year I loved waking up and watching the eggs and then the chicks.
The thing about living outside of the city - it's impossible to deny the power of Nature and of Life. Everything from the seeds growing into plants to the eggs growing into birds, it is much more obvious and unavoidable out here.