I had to laugh out loud at the instructions your Wildlife Department gave you, and I had mental visions of your husband in his trapping gear. It's prolly an everyday occurrence to them and they think nothing of it. I have been clawed and bitten sufficiently by my gentle little hens to take beaks and talons with anything but the greatest respect. Like Lilo says, I have a great deal of empathy with birds of prey. Life isn't easy for that kind of predator. I get daily performances from our turkey vultures (who are carion eaters and not likely to kill anything) and it's amazing to watch them. Over the years, I see that they do their hunting with a precision routine, and it's not at all random. They plot out zones and soar up high, and circle down low and then move over to the next zone and do it again if they don't find food. Sometimes there'll be a dozen of them doing this in tandem. When they light, I know that somewhere in the fields or pastures below, an animal lays there dead or dying. In the wintertime, I watch the routine of one particular female Cooper's Hawk. She is magnificent and for the last couple of years, I have watched her make her daily rounds. Our property is part of it, although she roosts in a grove of trees between some pastures up and across the road. After she checks out our feedings stations, she heads up to our spring grotto for awhile before moving on. Last winter, one of her progeny (I'd presume), a young male followed her same route almost daily. It was so funny, yet sad, to watch him as he first started learning to hunt. He tried to fly into the vines after the smaller birds, and got entangled. He sat there in full view under the feeders for long periods of time, like the birds would going to fly down and into his mouth. He caught on, eventually.

Thank you, the camera is a simple Canon Powershot Pro 1, it's basically a glorified point-and-shoot camera, haha. It's not SLR. I live in Central Florida Ericwi. So actually these photos are from back in late january/early february 09, amazingly. When the caterpillars start walking away from the plant to look for a spot to pupate, I will bring them inside and put them in an aquarium full of sticks.

Janie you have quite the mystery going on there! I think bluejay is a good guess for several reasons: 1. They aren't fussy about nesting sites, so they wouldn't object to a hanging basket. 2. They will use the nests of other birds 3. They will eat eggs of other birds 4. Their eggs are a shade of blue The cardinal couple may build another nest nearby, especially if they discover you are providing one of their favorite foods (what type of feeder are you using? They prefer to eat on a flat surface like a tray (or the ground), not on the perch-style feeders). They have a couple broods a year I think. They love safflower seeds too, which are more $$$ but the squirrels hate them, so if squirrels are a problem, spending more on safflower seeds might make sense (unless you have chipmunks, who love safflower! LOL!) There must be lots of egg ID sites out there, but I'm including a link to one I've used (I didn't see a bluejay egg at first glance, but it might be there someplace). Patti Here is a link that might be useful: Egg IDs

I showed that one to my kids. It's amazing! So far, my hummingbirds won't even let me let me in the backyard with them let alone sit 12 inches away. I hope they get used to me so I can get close. I have had friendlier hummingbirds in the past, but not for the last couple years. I need a duck blind or something.