By C. Blott
To The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND— My old boss used to say, “You can never have too many nest boxes put up for cavity nesting birds.”
He said that because he remembered older times and older forests with many old trees with holes, everywhere. Today we have a younger forest on the landscape because we have lost many old trees with holes to emerald ash borer and gypsy moth and other forest insects that have come. So, what can one do for cavity nesting birds, including Wood Ducks, Bluebirds, Nuthatches, Warblers, Woodpeckers, Screech Owls, Chickadees, and many others? We can put up nest boxes; many, many nest boxes.
And to get many nest boxes up in Haldimand, Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge, together with Haldimand Stewardship Council, has launched a donation-based nest box program. We have assembled a team of local woodworkers to make boxes designed for different species, and for a donation you can receive a nest box, or many nest boxes, to put up on your property. Donated proceeds buy supplies for more nest boxes.
A wood duck nest box story: A few years ago, there was a big wildfire in Gulf State Park that destroyed a large area of pine forest. This particular pine forest was the result of aerial seeding after a previous wildfire, and they had seeded over what had been a natural open wetland, home to many waterfowl. As the forest grew, the wetland was buried under the forest canopy. After the most recent fire, the wetland was revealed again, along with a series of wood duck boxes that had been long lost in the forest. (I assume the fire was mostly in the canopy, leaving the boxes unburned.) And the next winter, the boxes were occupied again, allowing us to capture a picture of this pair. (Photo and story from Donna and John Cocking of Fisherville).
To make a donation for a nest box, please visit: Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge at hobbitstee.com or contact Haldimand Stewardship at rm@haldimandstewardshipcouncil.org or the field phone at 519-496-6421.
C. Blott is a member of the Haldimand Stewardship Council.
