By Dave Elwing, Secretary and Development Committee Chair
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s March 2024 Newsletter edition.
Volunteers enjoyed themselves despite the cold day on the Marsh
Many thanks to each of the volunteers that helped check wood duck boxes in Theresa Marsh this past Saturday. We happily welcomed a number of new volunteers and saw a fair number of past volunteers. We especially want to recognize the Lomira High School Outdoors Club for their contributions this year. Not only were several students and their faculty advisor able to join us in the marsh, but about a week prior, WWA volunteers met with club members one evening at the high school to assemble new nesting boxes. After a discussion about vanishing habitat and why we build boxes, the team turned to and built ten boxes. These boxes were added to Midland Wings Chapter’s existing boxes, bringing the total to 42 nesting boxes located in Theresa’s North and South Refuges.
While the Saturday that boxes were cleaned out was cold and windy, unseasonably warm temperatures during the previous two weeks made ice conditions vary from non-existent where there was flowing water, to rotten along impoundment edges. Luckily, once volunteers were three to five feet from the shore, ice on the impoundment was slick but solid enough to safely walk on. Waders were key to staying dry when accessing boxes located within the impoundments. Areas with cattails and rushes brought thinner to no ice and volunteers found themselves “marsh-stomping” to get to boxes. Water depth is maintained at about 30” thanks to control structures, so not slipping on the ice was our biggest challenge.
Marsh stomping to place a new box
WWA’s Midland Wings chapter entered into a Land Use Agreement with WDNR to erect and maintain boxes in the marsh prior to the 2022 nesting season, resulting in 13 of the 15 boxes in place at that time being used. The chapter put out 20 more boxes and “adopted” several unattended boxes last year. 2023’s hatch, which was checked this past month, showed that only 11 of the 35 boxes were used. In addition to “fluffing” the cedar chip beds and cleaning out last year’s eggs, volunteers replaced six adopted boxes with new ones, relocated two existing boxes to better (safer) locations, and put up four new boxes. Volunteers were a little baffled as to why usage rate dropped so much between the 2022 and 2023 hatches, but they will continue to track nesting progress by box/location and relocate unproductive boxes as needed.
In addition to checking 2024’s hatch next February, future volunteer opportunities on the property may include tree planting and tree cutting (spring), invasive species control (spring and summer), goose banding and mallard nesting counts (summer), and waterfowl harvest surveys (fall). Feel free to reach out to me, Midland Wings Coordinator, via the Midland Wings FB page or email me (dwelwing@rcn.com) if you are interested in volunteering.
Getting onto the last of the ice at Theresa
Many schools have conservation minded clubs like Lomira High School’s Outdoors Club. We encourage chapters to reach out to their local school system to see if any of these clubs are in your area. While Midland Wings is just beginning this partnership, the chapter, students and the club advisor hope to grow this into a year-round relationship.
Wood duck boxes (assembled and kits) are available through WWA’s online store.