Boy Scouts restore wood duck nests at state park

Paul Hettich CONTRIBUTOR

What would most boys like to be doing on a cold

Winter Saturday morning?

Instead of sleeping, Boy Scouts of America Troop 92 of Antioch and Troop 609 of Waukegan bundled up for 20 degree temperatures and performed the annual maintenance of wood duck nests at Chain O’Lakes State Park. The scouts and leaders were there because over the decades the natural habitat of wood ducks steadily declined due to development and hunting and special nests are needed to attract the woodies.

Beginning in 1980, Troop 92 constructed 50 cypress boxes measuring 12” wide, 12” deep, and 24” inches high, with 3” x 4“ oval openings cut near the top large enough for ducks to enter but small enough to discourage raccoons. Wood duck nests at Chain O’Lakes are serviced during winter while marshes and ponds are frozen and before the ducks return in early spring from the south. The nests were attached to trees about 12 feet above ground facing water or to posts near ponds.

Using GPS with maps showing nest locations scouts and leaders split into two groups and hiked down paths and often through thick brush to reach the nests. The scouts took turns carrying a ladder, a tool bucket for possible repairs, fresh wood shavings for bedding, and a clip board to record nest usage and contents. After two hours’ work they returned to the park’s maintenance facilities for lunch and subsequently spent another three hours in the field.

Altogether the scouts audited, cleaned, and restored 15 nests, far fewer than most years because the warm weather and soft ground created unsafe conditions for reaching several nests.

In addition, one nest required repair and another replacement having been broken by a falling limb. However, the overall occupation rate of 33% was similar to past years when records were retained. One nest was home to two squirrels and another to a mouse.

If nests are disturbed by animals or built too close to each other, hen wood ducks will move their eggs to a common nest known as a dump site; one such nest contained 8 unhatched eggs. Although a wood duck may lay between 7 and 12 eggs, only a few ducklings survive after a year; they have the highest mortality rate of any waterfowl. Chicks may die in the nest, be killed by predators while moving to water, or in water during their first year. In recognition of their conservation efforts, Troop 92 has been honored over the years by the IDNR (IL Department of Natural Resources) with two plaques and a slide presentation of their work, with the Tom C. Clark Award from the National Park Foundation, and with the William T. Hornaday Award from the National Scouting Council.

Clockwise from top: Antioch Troop 92 and Waukegan Troop 609 Boy Scouts of America gathered to clean and restore wood duck nests at Chain O’ Lakes State Park. The remnants of a nest are cleaned out by Scout Christopher Cardona who replaces them with fresh wood shavings. A replacement nesting box is installed in the ground near water.