A bird just last week (in mid-July) built a nest in the “eaves” of our patio table umbrella on our deck in the Oakland hills. The nest fell down in our dinner — we hadn’t realized it was there. Our dog chewed it up, but the bird/s rebuilt within the week.

It seems way too late in the nesting season, so we are curious.

The bird swoops into a nearby tree whenever we approach, so we can’t get a good look at it. It appears to be mid-sized, grayish, long forked tail — kind of like a mocking bird.

No eggs yet, but we can see a tip of the bird’s tail moving whenever we look towards the nest, so know it’s often there roosting.

Questions: can local birds lay eggs this late? If so, we’d like to give them a chance. But we don’t really want to give up the use of our table and deck for the rest of the summer while any chicks hatch and grow.
Could we remove the umbrella — with nest — and place it somewhere else visible in our back yard, below the deck?

Thanks for any advice!

Karen Hossfeld