Duck boxes

We have finished cleaning/checking/installing new duck boxes at Hunting Creek. The majority of the boxes we cleaned on this particular day were out on open water.
You may be able to see some eggs floating in the water. These indicate an unsuccessful nesting attempt.

A successful nest will have obviously hatched eggs in it but we also look for egg membrane. Shane holds up a membrane from this successful nest.

Some of the boxes were in need of some maintenance. This pair of boxes had an osprey nest on top of them and one of the boxes was upside down.

We also installed some new boxes. A predator guard is installed on the post to keep other animals from being able to get into the nest and eat or destroy the eggs. Mike and Jim install the guard on the new post.

Once the guard is in place it's time to mount the box.
Click the play button to watch the video.

Three brand new boxes were installed including this one that was placed on a cedar tree in the edge of the water.

Once all the new boxes were installed and existing boxes were checked and cleaned for the upcoming nesting season, we loaded up all of our gear and made our way out to the trucks with Shane catching a ride on the canoe caboose!

Burning has begun

Last Thursday officially began our prescribed burning season. We use fire as a management tool to help us attain land management goals. Fire helps to create plant and animal habitat throughout our district, our state, and the United States. Burning helps us to change the makeup of the habitat to achieve varying objectives.

A brief history

Here in western North Carolina, the Cherokees manipulated their environment by using controlled burning to clear farmland and give hunters easier access to game. Some have even theorized that the burning helped create the distinctive, treeless southern Appalachian balds. In any case, the burning did enrich the soil and encourage certain species, such as pines and nut- and acorn-producing trees. Early North American settlers observed these activities and continued the practice of using fire in much the same way.

Our first burn of the year was conducted on the Buffalo Cove Game Lands located mostly in western Caldwell County. Our crew was assisted by the Burnsville and Morganton wildlife management crews as well as our regional forester and assistant forester.



While not a large burn, it was a good "warm up" for refreshing us on procedures and also to make sure all equipment was in proper working order.


Once the line is blacked in, it is patrolled to watch for any spot-overs.


After the burn has been completed we go around to "mop up". We go completely around the burn and extinguish anything still burning or smoking within 50 feet of the fire line. Here Shane puts out a smoldering root ball.

And during a long day, a quick rest is always welcomed!

Hunting Creek Swamp

We've been down to Hunting Creek Swamp to maintain our wood duck boxes. We clean out all the old nesting material from last year, check for the presence of successful nesting, and insert new nesting material (we use cedar shavings). More information can be found on this species by clicking on wood ducks.

We have boxes on open water, boxes bordering the edge of the water, and boxes along Hunting Creek itself. Here Shane gives Mike a ride thru the thick trees that have encroached on some of our border boxes while Jim trims some of the trees and limbs back to discourage use by squirrels and raccoons.


We checked the boxes after a weekend of heavy rain. Consulting websites, we could see that Hunting Creek had a huge influx of water just prior to when we were down there. Once there, we could see for ourselves just how high the water had gotten. The ground was covered with a layer of fresh mud, and as you can see in this picture, the water had gotten up amazingly high.

Notice the "high water" mark on these trees. You can see a thin brown line on the tree in the foreground. I went and stood beside this mark and it measured to about 5 feet! The water had definately gotten WAY UP!