It's just a guess for me, ownedbycats. I'm not good at nests.
But it looks like there's still some down stuck to the nest--goldfinches make a deep-cupped nest and line it with thistle down. This time of the year, the weather has often washed/blown/beaten the down out of them. If it's a goldfinch nest it would be about 3.5 inches across (about 9 cm).
I find nests here all the time, and unless I was lucky enough to see it occupied, I'm just making stabs in the dark when I try to ID them.
Oh, except oriole nests. Those are easy to ID once the leaves come off the trees.
