On Tuesday, we built wood duck houses. The event was organized by Kevin McDonald in cooperation with Windom public school (where my wife teaches 3rd grade). (Click the slide show in the upper left corner to view the slide show full sized)
We built wood duck houses because of the decline of the wood duck's natural habitat. Normally, the wood duck locates a hollow tree facing a body of water. Hollow trees at the edge of the water are becoming less common due to several factors like logging and the encroachment of humans.
The Duluth PBS TV crew from Venture North was on site filming our duck house installations. If you watch the slide show in the upper left corner, you'll see them.
The wood duck lays her eggs in the box. After they hatch, the ducklings will be in the water within 24 hours. Inside the duck houses are a strip of wire mesh that assist the ducklings in climbing up to the hole. From there, they jump to the water to join their waiting mother.
Hopefully, these houses will be well used. The wood chips need to be changed annually. So, someone will be back to check on them.
Posts
1 comment:
I put up 13 wood duck houses a month ago on the Mississippi river in Minnesota. No eggs yet but am noticing wood duck feathers in the houses. Hopefully will have eggs by this weekend. I made a blog on my wood duck project. Take a look.
http://www.empowernetwork.com/hostthenprofit/blog/banfill-island-wood-duck-project/
Post a Comment