BirdingGirl

This picture was taken from my Juvenile Wood Ducks post (July 2008). I thought I would follow up my post about wood duck boxes by providing links to additional resources. The MassWildlife website provides a wealth of wood duck box information, but here are a few snippets. Under normal conditions wood ducks nest in rotted out trees. But they have many conditions: The holes must be large enough to start with- they cannot enlarge them. There must be soft material inside already- they won't carry in materials to make the nest. It must be close to water to increase the ducklings' chances of survival. Many wood duck nest cavities were originally made by Pileated Woodpeckers. Unfortunately, they have honey bees, squirrels and other wildlife for competition. Not only does our backyard (technically the conservation land behind our house) have wood duck boxes, it also has some very active woodpeckers. I just noticed these holes during our walk back there last weekend. I wonder what ...

Here is a press release Steve shared with me about the need for people in Massachusetts to build and post wood duck boxes. Image Source: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/ FROM THE DIVISION OF FISHERIES & WILDLIFE You Can Help: Urgent Housing Need for Wood Ducks in Massachusetts There is an immediate housing need in Massachusetts that conservationists can all support! Wood ducks are one of the few kinds of waterfowl that nest in cavities or holes in trees. There are not enough natural cavities available in the state for nesting, but constructed boxes have filled the gap. While wood ducks are still wintering in warm, southern climes, Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) biologists and technicians are braving chilly winter temperatures on icy ponds, marshes, and other wetlands evaluating the condition of wood duck boxes and replacing boxes that are missing or in disrepair. However, materials for wood duck boxes are currently in short supply at the agency and the window of opportun...

While on my recent walk at the Charles River I noticed lots of juvenile ducks that I initially assumed were Mallards, then thought were Blue-winged Teals, and finally realized were Juvenile Wood Ducks thanks to my friend Dave. Many of the ducks I saw were hanging out on overturned trees laying in the river, and this group was roosting in a tree right near the footbridge. There was a very large group of Canada Geese nearby since people were feeding them bread. This annoys me not only because I know it's not good for the birds, but also because it's frustrating if I'm running or walking because I need to navigate around the birds or avoid the path altogether if there's too many of them. According to a recent feature in the "Green Guru" column in the July/August issue of Audubon Magazine, feeding wild birds is harmful for the following reasons: White bread offers poor nutrition for the birds (refined sugar and processed fats are essentially "junk food"...