Kevin and Alexander’s Excellent Adventure: A Duck Story

by Alexander van Engelen

With blistering winds and deep snow Land Stewards Kevin Brooker and Alexander van Engelen went out onto Smith Pond to check up on the condition of the Wood Duck boxes. Every year after the nesting season is over, duck boxes should be maintained by cleaning out old nesting material and replacing it with a fresh layer of wood shavings. This, of course, is best done when there is thick ice in winter, since the boxes are near or above water.

In order to safely and efficiently do their task Kevin and Alexander decided that skiing out across the pond would be the best idea, but one issue… Alexander has never skied before. So, a few days before the outing Kevin showed the basics of skiing and they went on a small trip out to Ely Mountain, a UVLT owned property in Fairlee. That went well and so the Wood Duck trip was still on.

After getting to Smith Pond, Kevin and Alexander strapped on the skis and started up towards the pond. By this time Alexander felt more comfortable on the skis and successfully climbed up a hill without sliding back down it. They made it up to the pond and skiing on the ice was a breeze. The first duck box had broken eggshells and two unhatched eggs. They were replaced with fresh wood shavings and hopefully next year the ducks will use the box again.

From there Kevin and Alexander skied across the pond from the island towards the other boxes. The next three duck boxes that were visited didn’t have any eggs or shells in them. Each box was in good condition but the surrounding area was a bit overgrown, so some pruning was required. Hopefully that work helps with enticing Wood Ducks to use these boxes.

Ducks Unlimited advises: “If you don’t have any ducks using your box over the summer, don’t worry. Waterfowl biologists have seen waterfowl migrating in the fall scope out potential nesting sites for next spring. This too is a good reason to keep your boxes in top condition. You never know when a duck might choose your nesting box.”

The last two boxes that Kevin and Alexander visited were unfortunately too damaged for continued use and must be replaced. Overall out of the eight Wood Duck boxes checked this year on UVLT properties, two have been successful.

UVLT’s Wood Duck boxes were built by Weathersfield Middle School students. Wood Ducks live in wooded swamps, and nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes. They migrate south in the fall, begin pairing up in early winter, most birds arriving at breeding grounds in the spring are already paired.