LOL lisa! hadn't thought about that possibility, you could be right! this is a brand spankin' new nest box i just put up a couple of weeks ago. the very day i put it up, this pair toured it, loved it, put earnest money down and moved in the next day. there was an ant inspection done (as per the contract for deed) and nary a one was found so i don't think it's that. seriously, this is the same pair of birds from last year. she builds the wimpiest nests you have ever seen. i have to be extremely careful when i open the box to check things because i am so afraid the whole thing will disintegrate if i so much as breathe! it would be virtually impossible to check for ants UNDER the nest. since i posted this morning, she has been in and out a few times and he has been feeding her. she does not, however, stay in there long. maybe it's because it's 85* out!

Wonderful pictures! I searched and found references to "Ceremonial Gaping" in robins. "Courtship includes courtship feeding, where the male feeds the female; ceremonial gaping, where the males and females approach each other and touch widely opened bills; and singing." Hinterland Who's Who Claire

I don't understand most of what you posted concerning the electrical aspects of this, but my thought would be that when it's atop the washer that it's being "electrified" somehow causing the various switches to not work as expected. Could that be a possibility?

They may ask her if she wants a sleeping pill & if she says "yes" it makes her groggy & almost non- responsive. Check her meds to see that she is getting the right ones & possible she could get someone else's by mistake. Or they may have a change of brand as not all generics are the same. Same main ingredient but different fillers can mess things up. Dad got eyedrops for glaucoma & changed brands on him & all food tasted like metal. When we found out they weren't giving him right 1 problem went away. So might not even be a pill.