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!