1982 R.L. Munne Melanerpes formicivorus Blom One 3 March Miracle of miracles, I walk up here at 0920 and immediately locate the usually hard-to-find ♀649 wht/DBlue and ♂492 Orange/Blacks, in the mistletoe-covered Valley Oaks on the "Live Oak Knoll", north (200m) from the granary. 0945, Both birds now in the granary, no evidence of anyone else around. End watch 0950 5 March Given the developments (disappearance of ♂493) at Blom 2, I decide to give another look here to see if ♂493 might have rejoined ♂492. It doesn't look like it. Again, I see ♂492, ♀649, and no evidence of any other bird around. 8 April Nobody in holes, but plenty of acorns here, 1730. 2 May Walking past at 1730: A bird (♀ I think) in the 1981 aborted nest hole, and before she looked out I heard tapping, on the inside 9 May Checked the 81 hole here, 4 eggs, quite fresh (see Nest record). Alan reported ♂492 in the hole here only half heartedly yesterday, so I would suspect incubation has just begun. This means 20 May would be a good day to expect hatching, and 11 June banding. 20 May After Alan's report of starling activity in the nest, and then no incubation, I check the hole at 1200 to find that it has failed! No eggs, but a lot of starling nest material + shit. Was the starling action a cause of the nest failure? Impossible to determine. See Alan's notes for details. Acorns still present