yeah, there was a terrific dove call, I noticed that. No apologies required, I loved it!!

Now that Patti has subjected herself to public humiliation (see report #2), I decided to complete my own: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itS5TvfvjTg
I did sit still for a while - this was at the end when I was getting antsy and worried about bees flying into my mouth!

I think he's overwhelmed by the noise

oh absolutely. I checked the video at some point in the last couple of days when one of the adults landed (without food); those two monsters started screaming and screaming - the adult took off fast! The corner bar must be a much calmer place to kick back and have a brew these days!

HAHAHAHAHA. Thank you, Patti!!! And I must say you look molto attractive in this contraption!!  I notice that you used clear nectar rather than red; I ought to have done the same because the ladies at the ball I wore the helmet to made catty remarks about how red clashed with my ball gown.

I can't believe you actually HAD a hummingbird flying over and he scorned the helmet!  
His usual greasy spoon must have looked less compromising. He was afraid of what his friends would say, too!

I have a very short video of myself in the helmet getting bored waiting for a hummingbird and starting to worry that a bee might fly into my mouth. Will post soon if I can figure that out.

Wonderin' out of which part of his Botness he speaks...

From my π hole, of course.

That's good. You eat π. We have learned something today. 
I thought you guys were all Bottom

I think that he may have once previously.

Wonderin' out of which part of his Botness he speaks...

Marcia!!! HI!  Thanks for the updates, in that case. I'm not sure why some people have their name appear and others do not. You may have failed to receive the memo on sacrificing a goat to Yarak before going out on fledgewatch!

Who is I?

I've been having the same problem. I don't know who these updates are from, since that crazy Yarak posts them!

I think it's very, very nice to see even one - but a whole family! Teenage headbangers too! Woodpeckers look so exotic and prehistoric. A couple of years ago my neighborhood suddenly had a LOT of them...not pileateds though. Then they vanished and lately we get them rarely. I LOVE catching sight of one. Enjoy!!

I love the way Warrior stumbles and flounders around.
Makes having a body look like a big nuisance!

I've always been amazed watching the eyasses develop, but this year I've seen the patents develop as well.

one of the very most memorable moments so far this year was Archer the day hatching began, looking down at all that, standing there, "instinct" delivery way off schedule, trying to figure where his nice quiet eggs had gone and what the story was with THIS stuff...

Great wing shots, Aafke!!!  The fluff on the birds and the poop all over the place makes the whole thing so abstract!

Ei - did Archer have a zoom-through cameo appearance in that yoga video? Something did.

And of course now that they are back in the nest box in plain view of 2 cameras, Camera 1 decides to work again.

shaky, they're just really really smart, and have figured out how to sabotage a cam here and there to get some privacy. wouldn't you?

Today, I was so nervous watching Callidora that I held my cell phone with me at work in case I had to scream for Brian H or Susan!  She fell over this morning almost when she was walking in the nestbox so seeing her preen on the edge of the ledge was almost too much for me.

My two modest fledgewatch shifts this year reminded me of the most nerve-wracking thing about this time - how these birds' boundless energy and power is coupled with their utter discombobulation!  They flap and flap and flap and do big old hops from one side of the windowbox to the other, basically flying back and forth, with no sense that they had any idea what was happening to them! They'd flap on the edge, and would have flown off a million times if not for the fact that they were gripping the edge with their talons! I also had a phone gripped in my hand - to call for backup in case!!

Great video, Paul - very nicely put together, good sense of the whole nesting area, and lovely music.
Those adults are really spectacular birds!
Plus, lots of fluff (I kept feeling like it was getting caught in my throat!).
Great work, and thanks!