Spent part of my day yesterday checking and cleaning out our 7 wood duck boxes.
Big Pond:
-Middle and south boxes had not been used this year or even last it looked like. Freshened the cedar shavings anyway.
-Walked up to the north box, set my ladder up and gave it a few taps, didn’t hear anything. Climbed up the ladder and opened the top only to have a hen woody take my hat off as she made her escape. I’m not sure who was more surprised. I peeked over in the box and counted 6 eggs in her nest. Closed everything back up with the hope she returns.
Small pond:
-North box was much like the first two on the big pond, no signs of use this year or last. Freshened the shavings and moved on.
-East box I found what looked like 9 mummified ducklings from an unsuccessful hatch, possibly an early run this year in a warm January or a late attempt last year. Found minimal breast feathers in the box, so I’m thinking the hen might have abandoned the nest for some reason. Never seen anything quite like this.
-South box. I knew I would have to evict a trespasser from this box, though I had misidentified the trespasser. A few weeks back as Dad and I walked by the pond, he noticed something in this box. We looked at it through binoculars and I swore it was an owl, turning its head to look at me as I moved to get a better vantage point. So yesterday, thinking it was an owl, I cut me a short stick for self defense, set my ladder up, whacked the box several times, didn’t hear anything. As I climbed up the ladder, a sweat bee or something similar flew out and tagged me on the head as I tried to swat it away. Back on the ladder and I see the entrance hole to the box is wet, but not with water. This stopped me short and made me peek my head around the box and take a look inside. The thing was slap full of honey bees! Being deathly allergic to bee stings, I bailed off the ladder and decided to let them keep that box. I’m lucky it’d been down in the 30s that morning and the bees were lethargic, otherwise that might have been the end of the line for me when i was whacking on the box with my makeshift club.
I need somebody with AB’s expertise to put on a bee suit and waders to evict those things!
“Mudhole” box
Water was too deep for my waders and my ladder. Will have to remember to get it next fall after we’ve had a dry spell and cool snap to bring the water down and keep the moccasins at bay.