BirdingGirl

Today is the last day of August and even if it kills me I'm going to catch up on my August birding! I started commuting into the city using the Commuter Rail 4 weeks ago and I haven't yet figured out how blogging is going to fit into all of this. But I'll at least catch up on my pictures from August. That's a start! The first weekend in August we went to Carver Pond , right here in Bridgewater . Steve had driven by it a bunch and wanted to check it out, and it's a really nice spot. Most of the other people we saw that day were fishing, including a father and his young sons- they had to be around 4 or 5 and were so cute. I didn't see many birds, but wanted to share these pictures of Wood Duck boxes . I'm always interested in seeing where they're mounted and of course I'm curious to learn of their success rate. Incidentally, we were hiking in New Hampshire yesterday (Mountain Lake trail in Intervale , NH) and saw one that had been knocked down in a sto...

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 Many wood duck nest cavities were originally made by Pileated Woodpeckers.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...