IFOR volunteers build, maintain wood duck boxes

By Whitey Willms
A local group of concerned outdoorsmen and women who are members of the Illinois Federation of Outdoor Resources maintain about 300 wood duck nest boxes on the Kaskaskia River, portions of Carlyle Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area and other associated watersheds.

The wood duck nest box program has been in existence since 1985.
The crews routinely clean, replace sawdust, do repairs and checks for eggshells from the previous breeding season during the winter months.
Wood duck nest box use success rates typically runs roughly 30 percent annually.
Nest boxes are located starting at Ramsey Creek, north of Vandalia, downstream to the north end of Carlyle Lake.
This is about 40 miles of the Kaskaskia River and includes several creeks.
Numerous ponds and wetlands also have nest boxes placed on them throughout Fayette County.
The effort has grown to the current number of 50-60 local volunteers who are involved in the program.
This year, about 18 individuals and kids, built replacement boxes (44 total) from cypress lumber provided by Nick DePaolo.
DePaolo and CJ Schilling recently coordinated a workday and provided a warm shed and tools for the effort.
Marathon Oil Co. from the Patoka/Vernon facility provided all of the hardware required in construction and donated approximately $400 to the project.
The new boxes have all been stamped with the IFOR logo.
Boxes placed on poles – over water – provide some of the best wood duck nest use, reduces nest predation and is a highly suggested management practice.
Photos provided by CJ Schilling and Todd Parke