Birds are mysterious - we still don’t really know for sure how homing pigeons ‘work’, for instance.
There have been many anecdotal stories where birds not only returned to the same yard, but to the same bush or tree to nest, year after year; and I think it’s been shown in some controlled studies.
This is an interesting book suggesting that birds not only have memory, but ‘traditions’:
-JT
I believe they do have memory! We had a tufted titmouse that used to hop on the back of our golden retriever and shuffle her feet to stir up any loose hair. She would gather it up (she looked like she had a big mustache) and go build her nest. She spent days getting hair from the dog, with her honey cheering her on from the railing. This went on for at least 7 years. Always one bird shuffling, and one cheering.
There have been many anecdotal stories where birds not only returned to the same yard, but to the same bush or tree to nest, year after year; ...
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I’ve lived in my house for 30 years. Back yard has a raised tie wall bed across the width of the yard and it’s full of Carolina Jasmine mixed with wild grapevine that cascades down the 5 ft. wall.
For at least the past 25 years, each Spring there are two to four mating Cardinals that build their nests and raise the young ones in the thick foliage. .....I also have a pair of Doves each year that nest and raise young in my holly shrubs. ....The male Cardinals are a bright crimson color who is fiercely protective of the drab hens and the nests. They will first fly to a new spot in the yard and then call to the hens or fledglings that it’s safe to follow.
I believe those that show up each year are the ones that were hatched and raised here the previous year.