It's scary out there! But it's lonely in here, where did everybody go? Decisions, decisions..... OK, I'm outta here (gulp).... Interesting that at least one parent seems to be cleaning up the nest but also at least one parent is still bringing food and looking for the babies. Did you see them feeding the fledglings out in the yard? Claire

i love watching these little guys

I also have a supposed squirrel-proof feeder, but a few squirrels figured out a way to hang by their back legs and nibble away. They didn't empty the feeder, but they did cause a lot to spill--which they then ate from the ground. The bigger problem that I had was rats. They were light enough that they didn't trigger the mechanism that shuts off the feeder. They came out at night and were really pests. I finally solved the problem with a baffle. The squirrels and rats cannot get up the pole to the feeder. Usually squirrels, who are very persistent, can find a way around most defenses. Not this one. It has been 100 % effective since I installed it about six months ago. The one that I linked above is, I believe, recommended by the Audubon society and is very easy to install.

It's hard for us to comprehend sometimes why woodpeckers do what they do. Sometimes it's bugs, sometimes they are looking for a place to roost/nest, sometimes it's drumming. Looks like this one was serious about enlarging the hole, so making it into a woodpecker house might have been on his mind. Were that the case I'd invite him to stay and make a different chickadee house. As part of my evolving bluebird house design to defeat the various critters who want to expand the hole I've started reinforcing them. McMaster Carr sells nice stainless steel flat washers in every conceivable size. I take one with the right size hole for the bird house, drill a couple of screw holes through the edges and place it over the opening in the wood. Even the most determined squirrel or woodpecker doesn't have much success against 1/8-3/16" of stainless! Stainless are a little more expensive than plain steel, but they don't rust. When the houses pass their lifetime I recover the washer and re-use it on the next generation.