Arthur Robinson & his wood duck box, photo by Brian Spilker.
The South Carolina Wildlife Federation (SCWF) has completed a nesting box restoration project with funds from a generous grant with Duke Energy’s Habitat Enhancement Program, along with partnerships with SCDNR, the Lake Wateree Association, as well as SCWF employees and volunteers. The grant allowed installation of eighty wood duck boxes along the shores of Lake Wateree, Fishing Creek Reservoir, Rocky Creek, Cedar Creek Reservoirs, the Wateree River, and adjacent floodplain habitats from early 2018 to the summer of 2020.
Once threatened with near extinction from habitat destruction and overharvesting, wood duck populations are now steady or increasing.
“Working with homeowners along the shores of Wateree has been an incredibly rewarding project,” said SCWF Habitat Education Manager Jay Keck. “With each box installment, we have seen immediate results of wood duck pairs nesting in their new habitat. We are incredibly appreciative to Duke Energy and all of our other partners for their dedication to wildlife habitat restoration.”
Boxes were installed with predator guards on 4x4 posts, which appeared to help the breeding success immensely by reducing the predation of the eggs and young, and by preventing other animals from using the nest cavities. The future data collection from this project will help with additional habitat projects for wood ducks and other cavity nesting species.
Anyone in South Carolina who is interested in learning more about attracting wood ducks to their property should contact SCWF’s Habitat Education Manager Jay Keck at mail@scwf.org.
Release published here:
Camden Chronicle Independent - https://www.chronicle-independent.com/news/kershaw-county/scwf-completes-wood-duck-box-project-lake-wateree/
Columbia Regional Business Report - https://sodacitybizwire.com/the-south-carolina-wildlife-federation-completes-nesting-box-grant-with-duke-energy-restoring-precious-habitat-for-wood-ducks-in-the-catawba-wateree-watershed