Like peanut butter and jelly, Ducks Unlimited and the North Oakland Livingston Headwaters Land Conservancy are a natural combination.
The two groups are coming together on July 16 at the Waterworks Wetlands in Holly to install eightof the 34 wood duck houses. Children made the water fowl’s new homes at a Ducks Unlimited event on June 12.
‘I contacted (NOHLC) and said ‘They had the wetlands and I had the wood duck nesting boxes and perhaps we should work together on this,?? said Chuck Myers, President of Ducks Unlimited.
The origin of the wood duck houses lies with Ducks Unlimited member Jeff Locher, who along with friend Jim Queen supplied and cut the wood for the houses.
Queen, who owns a sawmill, came into possesion of some old cedar telephone poles, which over a weekend he and Locher converted into the components for the duck houses.
‘We take so much, we have to give back or 20 to 30 years from now there won’t be any wood ducks around,? said Locher, who enjoys duck hunting.
Once the parts were cut for the duck houses, Locher and Ducks Unlimited brought them to a kids weekend at Bass Pro Shop in Auburn Hills on June 12. Ducks Unlimited set up six stations at the kids event and the duck houses were a big hit.
‘The kids loved it. Almost every kid that came in there made one,? said Locher.
When the event was done, Ducks Unlimited had given away 100 free ‘Greenwing? youth memberships and had 34 duck houses.
‘I was thrilled. We really haven’t done a lot with Ducks Unlimited. (This project) is really nice because it joins us with them,? said Karen Krigbaum, Administrative Director of NOHLC.
On July 16, eight of the houses will be placed in Holly, the rest are going to find homes around the area at various NOHLC easements.
?(The kids) signed their names to the houses they built. Since (the kids) are all Greenwings now, we can send them postcards telling them where their house went,? said Locher
According to Krigbaum, wood ducks prefer their house to be placed anywhere from 6-30 feet in the air and over water.
Future locations for the duck houses may include the Eaton Preserve in downtown Davisburg, and along the Shiawasee river corridor. Krigbaum said the NOHLC is looking into placing some at their easement behind Mesquite Creek on M-15, but she was not sure if there was enough water there.