1982 R.L. Mumme Melanerpes fornicivorus Lambert 4 may Ala watches here today + reports 3 ♀♀, 1 ♀NB ad ♀♀ 719+720! So we do have 3 ♀♀! 5 may Uh oh. walking up here 1645, I am surprised to find a ♂ woodpecker looking out of a N-facing hole in the "holey" (more southerly) fe-celine tree. I climb up, open the hole, and am chagrined to find only 6 eggs! Not good evidence for 3 laying ♀♀, I must admit. In fact one of the eggs was useless -- a puncture hole about 3mm wide at the "sharp end", and all liquid drained out. I removed this egg, but left the other 5. The eggs were all quite opaque, and I guessed ~ day 8 in the incubation sequence, but I suppose they could be as early as day 5, or as late as day 10. Some points: ① If they are ~ 5 or 6, my ambush on 30 April could have really screwed up the two ♀♀ I caught. Certainly if 40 didn't look like those two ♀♀ were in the process of laying eggs. I didn't feel any eggs inside them. I will have to find out for certain when these eggs hatch. ② Could only one ♀ (♀NB) contributed to this clutch? I must be alert for the possibility of other nests on the territory, 8 may Checked hole, 1400. Still 5 warm eggs, and it doesn't look like they are going to hatch immediately. So Every well could have screwed things up here with my ambush. 11 may Walked by, 1800. Flushed ♂ from hole, and I hear noisy babies! Good! This means hatching was probably 10 May