Wood Duck Survey

We've had a very busy spring here at Brookgreen Gardens!  Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a survey of our wood duck nest boxes.  Two wonderful Brookgreen volunteers use their boat to visit 39 nest boxes.  It took about three hours to complete the survey.  We wait until most of the ducks are finished nesting, and look for evidence of those nests and successful hatches.

Each box is numbered, and its location is recorded on a GPS device.

Wood ducks prefer a clear flight path and will not use a box that is covered by water plants.  Allen needed to trim around several of the boxes while balancing on the boat.

Allen opened each box to check for evidence of wood duck activity.  Sometimes we found Prothonotary Warbler mommas or eggs (look carefully).

Richard found a yellow rat snake.  Once he determined that the nest was inactive, the snake was returned to the box.

This eastern screech owl returned for a second season.  He was not happy to see us, so we decided not to disturb "his" box.

And wood duck eggs!  Females lay about twelve eggs.  Many of the boxes had evidence of recent nesting and eggshells from successful hatches.

 

The scenery was quite nice as well, and we were able to peek at some heron nestlings.  I was happy to be a small participant in a successful program.