Producing
Wood Ducks and Conservationists Goals: • Provide waterfowl and wetlands
education • Enhance forested riparian habitats •Increase California’s resident
wood duck population
Project Spotlight: The Biggest Box Building Day EVER!
This fall CWA prepared for one of the largest scale Wood Duck nest box building operations it had ever seen. The goal: 250 wood duck boxes in approximately seven hours at Scout Expo 2007. To learn whether they reached their goal or not, click here>>
About CWA’s Wood Duck Program The Concern In California, wood duck habitat has
been drastically reduced. Only 5% of historical forested wetlands
remain in California’s Central Valley. The Central Valley
is believed to be the most important wintering and nesting area
for wood ducks in the Pacific Flyway. CWA's Approach Wood ducks are unusual ducks because
they nest in the cavities of trees, along waterways such as rivers,
creeks, and ponds. In California, 95 percent of these habitats have
been lost. Luckily, wood ducks will also nest in man-made boxes.
CWA coordinates the most extensive volunteer nest box program in
the nation, hatching more than 30,000 ducklings each year. Equally
important are the educational values of this program and the work
that goes into restoring the duck’s riparian habitats. To
learn more about the Wood Duck Program, click
here>>
Of the more
than 30,000 acres of habitat projects statewide in 2006, roughly
10 percent (3,000 acres) were restored or enhanced riparian
wetland habitats. Nearly 35,000 ducklings hatched
from managed nest boxes, reaching a cumulative program total
of 470,000 ducklings.
SCIENCE
Wood
duck hens often lay their eggs in another hen’s nest.
New research techniques compare this behavior between nest
boxes and natural cavities. To learn about the implications
for habitat management, click
here>>
POLITICS &
EDUCATION
The best way to learn about wood ducks is to get involved! CWA has all the information you need to get started and boxes for sale too. To learn more, click here>>