I hoped to hear of better news, but, all in all, in reality, the best news is, Ty came back for another season. So, to me, that's excellent news, but, if there isn't successful nesting, then, doesn't the male move on, or do they claim their territory and hope to procreate with another female?
It's not as quick as that Alli. Not nesting isn't the same as no nesting successfully. If the female is Paris, they have nested successfully together once so he would likely remain with her whether they nest successfully or not, at least for a year, perhaps two. Remember Doorly in Topeka? They had 4 or 5 nests as I recall where he smashed all the eggs (no one knows why he did that - non-viable perhaps or just didn't understand what eggs were about) until the year one chick hatched and he made a complete 180 and was perfect dad. If the female isn't Paris, then its not unusual for a pair not to nest together in their first year. And if the female is borderline too young to breed, then again, no impetus not to remain with her.
Ivy's first mate was Lucy and they were unsuccessful. Ivy's second mate was Jules and they too were unsuccessful (location, location, location!) and it wasn't until he convinced Princess he was mate material that he found a permanent mate. Now Ivy is a bit flighty, being hot and heavy with Jules then Joli before Princess this year is evidence enough of his determination to have chicks. Once Princess was back however, there was no question where his loyalties lay.
Holly on the other hand found a mate during Zeus' sabbatical year with her but then returned to Zeus immediately afterwards. Zeus had 4 mates and he trained them all well. Interestingly, despite her most successful year to date with Zeus in 2009, Hurricane took up with Brooklyn very quickly in 2010 and she's not done as well in terms of numbers of young to survive to fledging. Princess was very loyal, she was steadfast in her bond with Trey until she was sure he wasn't coming back. So while every bird and pair are different, they do tend to stick with what and who works.
They have been in the Selkirk area together all summer though they did arrive later (maybe that was the reason not to nest? maybe). And we can't say if they haven't nested and perhaps lost the nest and we didn't find it before it was lost. And perhaps they are just so far behind the other nests (more than a month) and we haven't found it because they are being secretive and they still have eggs or chicks that are too young to be seen/heard as we search for them.
As I said, they are our puzzle pair ...
