Turkey Creek Wood Duck Nesting Box Project
The North American wood duck population responds well to nesting habitat enhancement.
SportDOG Brand
® recently sponsored and participated in a conservation outreach wood duck nesting box project in Tennessee’s 58-acre Turkey Creek Wetland Area. This area is a unique resource in that it is located literally within the shadows of developments and malls in the downtown Farragut area of West Knoxville. The wetland not only hosts a variety of raptors, reptiles, amphibians, songbirds and native flora, but it is an important area for migrating waterfowl such as the North American wood duck.
For nesting, wood ducks depend primarily on abandoned tree cavities created by pileated woodpeckers. But with the absence of pileated woodpeckers in the area for creating these nesting cavities, nesting-habitat enhancement measures were required in order to take full advantage of the quality brooding and adult habitat in the area.
SportDOG™ Conservation Outreach Coordinator Gary Williams inspects a wood duck nesting box in need of replacement.
During development of the Turkey Creek industrial area in the early 1990s, wood duck nesting boxes were installed by a private contractor as a requirement of the Environmental Impact Statement conducted for the wetland. A decade later, the majority of those boxes either no longer existed or were in need of significant repair or replacement. Annual maintenance of artificial wood duck nesting boxes is an important component to wood duck nesting success.
Gary Williams and SportDOG™ engineer Andy Grimmett set up a new nesting box.
Seeing the chance to make a difference in this unique habitat, SportDOG
Brand staff, along with the Turkey Creek Wetland Park Area manager, installed
11 nesting boxes at strategic locations. One consideration during the placing
of the boxes was to reduce nest dumping. Nest dumping may occur when wood
duck hens attempt to optimize as many of the nesting opportunities within
a given area as possible, but are only able to successfully incubate a single
nest. Therefore, it was important that boxes were strategically placed so
that box entrances were not viewable from each other. Installed nesting
boxes will need to be monitored prior to nesting season in order to discourage
non-target species from utilizing the boxes.
After hens have successfully incubated their clutches and broods have vacated the nesting boxes, an evaluation will be completed. Use and nesting success information will be recorded using standard wood duck nesting box evaluation data collection sheets. Project success will be evaluated by summer and results published in appropriate mediums to maximize project success exposure, future project success and contribution to the community.
The Turkey Creek Wetland Area is unique in that it lies literally within the shadows of development in the downtown Farragut area of West Knoxville.
Detailed data collection on nest-box use will be a key to future project success.
Update 06-09-06
Feathery down from nesting wood ducks and eggshell remnants suggest a successful hatch took place inside this new nesting box.
Five wood duck nesting boxes on the south end of the Turkey Creek Wetland Area were recently inspected for nesting success. Two boxes were new additions with cedar nesting material and three boxes were existing boxes that were still in good condition but without cedar nesting material. Nesting box designs were similar. Nesting wood duck hens during the 2006 Spring nesting season had obviously used the new nesting boxes but, interestingly, ignored the old ones. The occurrence of wood duck nesting down, eggshell remnants, and the observation of wood duck adults and broods in the area suggest broods were hatched from these boxes. Nesting boxes will be repaired if necessary and new cedar nesting material added to all boxes next winter to help increase additional nesting success.
Kevin Brudecki, son of Radio Systems Corporation Outreach Director Chris Brudecki, inspects a 2006 woodduck nesting box for signs of recent woodduck nesting activity.
