Bird on a Column

A couple of weeks ago we noticed a bird trying to build a nest on the column of our deck. The wind that day kept knocking the nesting material onto the deck, thwarting the bird's efforts. When we got back from our Paris trip we found this:


She was apparently successful in the end. She is a rougequeue noir in French (Phoenicurus ochruros), or a black redstart in English. The book says they frequently nest on buildings which simulate their natural rock-face habitat. I haven't really noticed a male around, just her.

We keep an eye on her, and when she's not out feeding, she sits on what we assume are her newly laid eggs, keeping a watchful eye on us. One day we'll have peeping chicks up there, I'm sure.