The Allen Chapter of Ducks Unlimited on Sunday February 15th installed 11 wood duck boxes, in Lavon Lake. Ten Committee Members, including two green wings (youth under 17), donated all the materials, built the boxes and put them along a shoreline around and in the lake near Mallard Park on the eastern side. The Chapter worked with US Army Corps of Engineers personnel at the Lavon Lake Headquarters to determine the best locations for the boxes. It is hopeful these boxes will become nesting cavities for wood duck pairs that nest in the area.
The boxes need to be cleaned out and re-supplied with cedar shavings annually to entice birds to reuse the boxes the following year. A youth group is being sought to take on this responsibility starting next winter prior to the nesting season.
Wood ducks are one of a few species of waterfowl that nest in hollow tree cavities. The males are easily identifiable by their crested head, iridescent green, purple and blue colors, white chin, with partially red bill and red eyes. Females are grayish with a wide white eye ring. With development, loss of native wetlands, flood control and the frequent cutting down of dead trees with cavity holes these boxes provide additional artificial nesting habitat for local birds. The bird occurs from east Texas to the Atlantic Coast and along the Pacific Coast states. Some individuals migrate annually from the Canadian border to Southeast Texas, but some individuals remain locally (where born) throughout their entire lives. Wood ducks begin searching for a mate and nesting cavities in January and February with the majority of hatchings occurring during April and May, but have been observed hatching as late as July in East Texas.
The Allen DU Chapter is having their 11th Annual Fundraising Banquet on Thursday, 6 August 2009, 5:30 PM at the Swingin’ D Ranch, 3406 Dublin Rd., Parker, Texas. All proceeds go to Ducks Unlimited to be used for wetland conservation and restoration. This year there will be an opportunity to donate funds or materials for additional wood duck boxes to be installed in local, public waters where wood ducks may frequent around the Allen and surrounding areas. Materials alone due to the wood needing to be thick cedar or cypress can cost $40 per nest box.
If you would like to attend the banquet, become an event sponsor by donating goods or services or donate to the wood duck box project please contact Scott Brown (214) 383-3223 or Kevin Goldsberry (972) 658-6049.
The Allen Twin Creeks newspaper recently published an article about our Wood Duck Project out at Lake Lavon. It was a bigger article than the one printed in the Dallas Morning News so this is kinda small. You can click on the image to read the article.
