On Thursday, I saw this Swamp Darner planting eggs in this sodden piece of old wood in the Vale of Cashmere. I’d seen the same thing happening… eight years ago (!) At that time, the darner was attacked by a Catbird once she’d finished her ovipositing, or at least some of it. The Catbird won.
On Friday, another Gray Catbird battered another Swamp Darner into a meal.
Back on the 12th, I spotted my first Gray Catbird nest. A pair were flying in nest-lining material. Sure seems late in the season, but they could be working on a second brood. This nest is about 10-15 feet up in a small bamboo grove, which is no place I ever thought to look.
Good gravy, is it Sunday already? Look out, here comes the collection plate…
Backyard and Beyond 
There is a catbird nest in our neighbor’s bamboo, too. The birds were flying in long colorful plastic ribbons and then pulling them into the thicket. That’s how it was discovered. They seem to adapt pretty well and use whatever comes in handy. The location is good, because it’s just yards away from blueberry bushes. Man, do they love blueberries!!
The phoebe that built a nest on the wall of my cabin raised three broods one summer.
That’s a LOT of work!