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Click on Photo for Larger Picture
It has been an incredibly
active spring thus far. Our latest Activity Report
provides the details. Woodies arrived weeks ago and are actively nesting. The 2007 drought is
still significantly affecting habitat in many inland wetlands where runoff
is relatively limited. Conditions do not appear to be suitable to maximize
Maryland production this year.
With almost all of the
installation, replacement and relocation work now completed, nest monitoring
will begin in earnest. MWDI nest data will help discern the general impact
of last year’s drought on current nesting behavior in selected areas.
Public sites continue to rise
as more are volunteering to support the ongoing monitoring of nest boxes.
There are now 59 active sites for the 2008 nest season, up from 41 in 2007
and 25 in 2006. There will be more than 60 in 2009 based on recent habitat
reviews. In February, I thought only 50!
Spotlight on Volunteers
May 5, 2008 Box Cutting
Volunteer hours now exceed
12,000 since late 2004. Cooperation and assistance from federal, state and
local public officials continues to be exemplary as does the support of many
non-profit organizations and their staff. The National Wildlife Federation,
Maryland Waterfowlers Association, the Rockville chapter of the Izaak Walton
League and the two Maryland chapters of Delta Waterfowl have been especially
active the past few months.
Net functional capacity by the
end of the 2008 nest season will be approximately 1,525 boxes on 59 MWDI
participating sites. 251 new boxes will have been installed either as
replacements (46) or new capacity (205). 89 boxes have also been removed
primarily to decluster box placement in certain programs. Thus, a 12% gain
of 162 boxes over the 2007 adjusted level of 1,363 boxes is anticipated.
Effective box placement,
housing quality and new habitat exposure has improved such that productivity
gains are expected to be more significant than this statistical increase
once programs mature. The detailed analysis of 2007 results is almost
completed as we have now captured data from all but a small number of the
boxes. It will be a useful state-wide reference from which to compare future
box use and productivity.
MWDI has been increasingly
active in external affairs making presentations and supporting a rising
number of youth-oriented box building events. We continue to encourage
private program “best practices” by providing access to cost-effective
predator guards and box materials such as our planned May 5th box
kit marathon, where we expect to make more than 300 kits. Routinely, we also
provide program advice and information or obtain it from other cooperating
wildlife professionals. Details are provided throughout the website.
Picture submission for the
photo contest is rising. Please send along any of your instructional
wildlife, nest box or people shots! We’ll be making some interim awards this
summer.
Thank you for you continuing
participation and interest.
Sincerely,
Cliff Brown
Executive Director
Maryland Wood Duck Initiative
The Maryland Wood Duck Initiative is an all-volunteer wildlife
conservation effort started in late 2004. Our objectives are to
enhance Maryland’s wood duck population and to generate a greater
appreciation of the wetland habitats in which they live by
advocating and demonstrating the merits of a “best practices”
approach in managed nest programs.
Leveraging these focused efforts on the wood duck, we seek to
provide a
Total Wetlands Experience for our volunteers
and the “next generation” through the development of complementary
educational programs, internships and research projects. |
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