1991 Walter D Koening Melanerpes fornicivorus Lower Haystack HNHR 30 April 1700. Bird in traditional hole: 1 egg! (Marked #1). 22 May 1745. Bird still in nest hole, despite having infertile eggs (fide MTS). (They should have hatched several days ago.) 3 June 945. No one in hole. Climbed up: 5 eggs still there (inc. my #1); definitely dead. Note, however, that one was a runt egg (and this egg was not laid first). I removed the eggs and checked other holes. There are, by the way, plenty of stores left here. 14 June 1000. 9 in hole in saddle tree! Climbed up: 1 fresh egg! 17 June 1030. Checked hole to confirm that this is the world's first AW 1-egg clutch! (Incubation was in full steam on the 14th; plus, the egg, although fresh, wasn't quite fresh enough). Amazing. Presumably two facts might be pertinent. First, the 9 here has problems (note the 5 infertile eggs [inc. 1 runt] at the 1st nest). Second, the hole here is very woody and has only a small area of wood chips for eggs. (Surely there is space for another couple eggs, however....) 22 June 1000. Well, an embarrassing moment. Turns out There's a "lower compartment" to the nest that I missed entirely! (Danny had reported "2 babies & 2 eggs" yesterday). Turns out there are 2 babies and 3 unhatched eggs, at least one of which looks developed but unpipped. The 2 babies: 5 17.8 2 15.2 Put in a parasite board. Hatched ~ 18 June? 25 June 1800. jOr dead in nest! Exposure, apparently; the other was fine. Maybe got stuck in wrong sector of the nest? I took tissue from him in any case (#2006). Also retrieved The Parasite board.