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Ecowrappin'
Nesting Box Faux Pas
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
I recently submitted an article to the C-K Times Website about my experiences with wood duck nesting boxes. A rather lengthy article, perhaps too lengthy, but I felt that the range of experiences and interesting observations would be of interest to some readers. I mentioned a couple crucial aspects of a successful wood duck nest box effort; 1) the strategic placement of the nesting structures in suitable habitat within the traditional breeding range of the species of interest; and 2) the annual maintenance or cleaning out of the box and the replacement of fresh nesting material. However, in spite of my "expertise" and long-term practice with nesting structures, I failed to mention another crucial feature that gives a nest box a much better chance of success. That feature is predator proofing. Every nest box among the many that I referenced in the previous article was erected on a predator proof mounting. In virtually every case that involved steel poles with a flat, light gauge steel (28 gauge) predator guard bolted onto the pole. This mounting system made it virtually impossible for any land or water based predator to access the box. Care had to be taken not to place the box too close to tree trunks or overhanging limbs where a raccoon or squirrel could make a short jump across to the box. The predator guard is very important. Based on my observations, mounting a box directly on a tree or post, whether a wooden post or even an aluminum pole, was a direct invitation to predation by raccoons or opossums. Both are quite capable of climbing a ìbareî pole.With the foregoing correction made, and my conscience now a little more at ease, I plan to offer, over the next several weeks, a little background on a few of the wetland habitat projects that I was involved with during my tenure with Ducks Unlimited Canada. These projects will not necessarily just be the more prominent ones, but may also contain histories or characteristics that would make them of interest. I begin this periodic series with:
McGeachy's Pond
McGeachy's Pond is situated on the shore of Lake Erie just west of the village of Erieau. It is a triangular-shaped water body, separated from the lake by a large dyke with an armour stone facing. Kent County Road # 12 and Erie Shores Drive contain the other two sides of the triangle. How or why McGeachy's Pond survived the fate of much of the adjacent lands is unknown to me. I do know that the adjacent lands in close proximity to the Lake Erie shoreline were historically permanent marshland and seasonally flooded swamp. With the exception of McGeachy's Pond, these lands have been drained for agricultural purposes and continue to be pumped on an annual basis in order to maintain crop production. Market garden crops have been produced on these lands; crops similar to those produced on other former marshlands in southern Ontario such as the Holland River Marshes, the Thedford Marsh, and the Dover Marsh. Perhaps McGeachyís Pond was farmed at one time as well. Someone with a better knowledge of the history of this particular site or the general area could set me straight on this.
As a newcomer to Ducks Unlimited Canada and the conservation of wetlands in general, in 1976 I accepted an invitation by the site owner, the Lower Thames River Conservation Authority, to consider McGeachy's Pond as a Ducks Unlimited wetland enhancement project. The hydraulic function of McGeachy's Pond at that time was quite interesting. Water levels within the 30-acre wetland fluctuated significantly on an annual basis. During the winter and early spring months, McGeachy's Pond was used as a water storage area. The only outlet from the pond was a twelve-inch diameter pipe through Kent County Road # 12 into the end of a municipal drainage ditch. This ditch traversed adjacent cropland to a pump system that lifted the water into Rondeau Bay. The small culvert contained a gate valve whereby the outflow from McGeachy's Pond could be controlled at will. This gate valve was closed during the winter and early spring months as a means of reducing the load on the drainage system during that period of the year when it was crucial to get the water off the agricultural lands in an expedient fashion. By late spring or early summer, when the load on the drainage system was typically less, the gate valve was opened enough to let the water from McGeachy's Pond "bleed off" in a controlled manner. By the time the valve was opened, McGeachy's Pond would sometimes be "brim full". By mid to late summer, the pond was often nearly empty, save for a deeper zone about 10 acres in size. This yearly deep-to-shallow cycle did not make for the establishment and survival of the diverse wetland plant communities typical of healthy and productive wetlands.
The solution was to find a means of stabilizing water levels, especially over the mid-spring to late fall period, yet allow the pond to continue, in some measure, its water storage function. A small drop-inlet water control structure was mounted on the pond end of the small culvert under County Road # 12. A higher and drier corner of the wetland was level ditched; a wide yet relatively shallow ditch was excavated through this area as a means of increasing overall habitat diversity. McGeachy's Pond could still be used as a water storage area, but now when the gate valve was opened the pond would only drop as far as a prescribed management level set on the control structure. Water levels throughout the spring, summer and fall seasons were more stable and a healthier more diverse aquatic habitat condition evolved.
Many years after the management prescription was established, it was decided that McGeachy's Pond should be dewatered in order to encourage new plant growth in the wetland. Some water would be left in the deeper 10-acre area. A flood pump was employed to quickly lower water levels. The draw down operation was barely underway when a local resources official threatened legal action because fish habitat was allegedly being destroyed. It was somewhat ironic that habitat management activities over the previous years had actually improved the amount and quality of the fish habitat within McGeachy's Pond. Communications and common sense led to an understanding of the bigger, long-term habitat picture.
On another occasion the culvert through County Road # 12 became plugged with debris. No manner of poking or prodding with poles and probes would dislodge the obstruction. However, the local fire department was happy to come out and blow the culvert clear with a fire hose. It was a chance to practice with the fire fighting equipment and all in good fun for them.
McGeachy's Pond is small but very visible Great Lakes coastal wetland. After nearly 30 years, the water control works will soon need to be replaced. In order to protect and maintain this habitat, not to mention the initial and ongoing investments that have been made in this wetland, this structure should be regularly monitored and replaced as soon as is required.
I was born on the Bruce Peninsula on July 20, 1951 and raised on a farm just south of the village of Lionís Head, which is located about halfway up the peninsula on the Georgian Bay shoreline. I graduated from Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology in Barrie in 1973 as a Resources Engineering Technologist. I was hired by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) in April of 1975 as the first DUC employee in Ontario. Throughout almost 29 years I was involved with the implementation of more than 500 wetland projects and project complexes in southwestern and south central Ontario. Some of these habitat projects included important waterfowl and migratory bird habitat along the eastern shoreline of Lake St. Clair. Just three weeks short of completing 29 years with DUC, I accepted an early retirement opportunity effective March 31, 2004.
