On April 11 a friend on Treasure Island (Mason
County, 47? 20' 32'' N, 122? 49' 27" W) showed
me a Chestnut-backed Chickadee that was nesting
in a hanging flowerpot inside her walk-in greenhouse.
The greenhouse has an open side. The nest was
about 6 feet off the ground. The incubating bird
was not visible from outside: it was hidden by
flowers except for a nice view of its back via the kitchen window.

But two weeks later my neighbor reported that the
flowerpot had been knocked down. She found adult
and chick feathers on the ground. She speculated
that a cat could not have knocked the pot down,
but perhaps a raccoon might have done the deed.

Mark Oberle
Seattle, WA
oberle at mindspring.com