1977 Walter D. Koenig Melamerpes formicivorus Hastings Reservation, Monterey Co, Calif. (30 May) will have to be checked again). This group has acorns for sure. Nest 2 (South Slope). Bird in the same hole as I arrived. Instead of nestlings, however, there were 2 fresh eggs in the hole, which I marked! Since I know they did have nestlings on 12 May (and not old ones especially) I'm pretty sure that their first clutch must have failed shortly after I found it, and that this is now a second attempt (something no one else on the reservation seems to have attempted as yet!). The alternative (first clutch fledged already) seems unlikely, as the clutch would have to have been ~10 days ahead of any other active nest on the entire reservation. In any case, I should return and measure the complete clutch in several days. Since I'm not sure where the storage facilities of this group are, I don't know whether they have stores or not. Nest 3. (South Slope). 3 babies (#378 to 380), who by their development can't be much older than 18 days This group does have stores. 31 May 1800. Returned to Nest 1, up Poison Oak Hill (Ridge) where 1) ≥4 adults flushed from the area as I arrived 2) j375 did indeed die, and was well along the road to fouling up the nest. Cause is unknown, but given its weight it was presumably somehow injured yesterday- when I removed it from the nest. In any case, the carcass was removed. 3) The other 3 babies were all fine; j374 was ready to make a run for it on his own, in fact (but couldn't fly yet).