1982 R.L. Mumme Melanerpes formicivorus School Hill West 12 Jan ** GROUP UPDATE ** ① Purge J674, not seen after banding 7 May I wander around all over the place up here, but find no suitable holes. Also Alan watched up here recently and saw 9674! D-9 plunge! See his notes for details. 17 May Well, it takes a while, but I finally find the nest up here. It's a huge decaying old Blue Oak, ~100 meters SE of the granary. Though the tree is quite dead, its pretty solid, and I was able to climb up without too much trouble. Since I didn't bring climbing gear, I'll have to come up later, to open the hole. The eggs have hatched, but adults are still brooding. Also, while I was watching I actually got a complete census. 9531 Brn-or/Brn-dr ⑤530 Brn-or/Brn-or, a-d 9674 Dbrn-Red(N)/or all seen quite well, all seen carrying insects or acorn bits off toward the nest. 18 May Opened the nest here, 1745: Found 4 babies, ~12 days old. Three look quite healthy and should fledge. ⑤ A 4th is definitely on the runt side, and may or may not make it. That means I should band this group on 28 May 28 May Banded 4 babies, and bled all but the runt 1500. Now J756-759. The runt was quite tiny, but seemed vigorous. He weighed only 35 grams. 18 June ** GROUP UPDATE ** ① UNPURGE J674. alive + well