Partnerships play role in waterfowl rebound

 

Many naturalists consider the wood duck to be the most beautiful duck in North America, if not the world.  Its scientific name, Aix sponsa, translates into "waterbird in bridal dress." Because of its beauty (its feathers were in demand as clothing accessories), its eggs and meat, and because the wood duck nests in the cavity of large trees, which have had to make way for highways, malls, housing developments and corporate parks, the wood duck virtually disappeared from much of their range. However, for the past five years, in a Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) maintenance shop in Secaucus, members of the PSE&G Environmental Partnership Team worked with Ducks Unlimited, Inc., and built over 100 wood duck nesting boxes for the waterfowl’s return from their frost-free winter in the southern United States.  Ducks Unlimited is a world leader in wetland and waterfowl conservation.

Courtesy USGS; http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i1440id.html

Ducks Unlimited Hudson River Chapter Chairman Mike Panos said, "From the very beginning of the nesting box program nearly 70 years ago, the wood ducks have eagerly accepted boxes as suitable nesting sites."  Panos noted that the North American wood duck nesting box program has been so successful, that biologists estimate that as many as 300,000 ducklings are reared in these hand-made shelters each year.  The current population is estimated to be between two and four million birds.

The PSE&G Environmental Partnership Team often includes young people in the projects because, "Children learn best by interacting with the world around them. The unique needs of wood ducks allow us to teach students not only that they can make a difference, but exactly how," said PSE&G Public Affairs Manager Richard Dwyer.

The wood duck population is limited by the availability and quality of habitat.  Even though human action was a leading cause of the wood duck's mortality, human intervention and active wildlife management techniques are a vital reason for their comeback.

Dwyer added, "It is gratifying to know that the shop-made wood duck nests have a higher hatching success than most naturally built duck nests.  That is because the boxes can be strategically placed where natural predators, such as raccoons, cannot get to the eggs."