1978 Walter D. Koenig Melanerpes formicivorus Haystack-Blouquist Hastings Reservation 16 September I must admit that one other odd thing happened here yesterday which I didn't record: I walked over to the nest hole and checked below it (thinking I might find a trace of more lost nest fledglings) and instead found a living, furry, apparently newborn woodrat. This seemed suspicious enough that I returned this afternoon and opened the hole, where I found another, identical, but dead baby woodrat (identification is still to be checked, however) but otherwise no indication of rodent inhabitation in or at the bottom of the hole. Out of the several hypotheses, two are particularly likely: 1) the woodrat, for some reason out of a place to live, ran in hole and gave birth; then left for some reason not related to the birds. 2) The rat, with a nest elsewhere, found the hole, decided to move her babies in, either found woodpeckers inside or was confronted with them later on, probably brought two and then gave up. One was subsequently tossed out by the birds (alive); the 2nd remained inside and starved. It certainly would be worth checking to make sure these birds are still roosting here. 22 September 850. Watching from hide. Birds, by the way, are not roosting in the nest hole (are instead roosting in the old granary on HNHR). 900. Several adults are chasing jays from the roost tree. 903. ⚫⚫⚫ 0r-Yel/or #171. No storing yet, but lots of inter-sp. chasing. ③♀ Yel/Blk #176. ③ Jrt-Blk/Wn #449 playing hard to see off on the side. ④♀ Wn-DP/or #247 plus ⚫171 now in granary working stores. ⑤ j m / Da-la #45D(! yea!) over on the side. ⚫⚫⚫ Wn/Blk #173. 925. The birds (up to 3 at once) are really chasing those jays.