1980 Walter D. Koenig Melanerpes formicivorus Buckeye Hastings Reservation 8 June Ron came up here to check today but found no activity. He also checked the hole, only to find it empty! Thus, so goes nest #4 here. He also watched some, seeing many of the birds who are supposed to be here. See his notes for more details. 14 June 1100. I came by today, flushing several birds from the granary. None was in any holes there, but a ♂ was inside the far nest hole again. This would appear to be nest #5 for this group this spring, and the 3rd in this hole (they went: Far hole, low hole in granary, far hole, motion-high hole in granary, far hole again). 15 June Watched the nest here from 730-1130. Everyone (except 1st♂) here. 19 June Finally went up to check the hole, finding an amazing 10 eggs (!) inside. This seemed a little excessive even for this ♂, so I opened it up to check. What I discovered was that she had laid only 2 new eggs here; the other 8 were all the ones from the prior nest here (see 26 May) which had never been removed. The 2 new eggs were opaque; the other 8 were all clearly added. 20 June Gwen reports that the birds were feeding here: thus, the babies have hatched. This unexpectedly early hatching didn't strike me as so unusual until Ron pointed out an interesting juxtaposition with the last "nest" which was in the granary. The 4th egg in that set was laid on the 6th. In order for the 2 eggs in this most recent effort to hatch on the 20th, they had to have been laid on either the 7th and 8th or, at the latest, 8th and 9th. Thus, the inference is good that these 2 eggs are not a