Dan Andrews Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Well I went out with JWL today and cleaned some duck boxes. Maybe Jack can post some pictures because we had an interesting afternoon. So after stopping at a buds to wash down all the sawdust we swallowed I came home to find this in my front yard duck box. So the squirrel gets bloody but wins his back yard box and the owl evicts or maybe even eats the starlings from the front yard box and everybody's happy. Jack has some pictures of some other inhabitants of these boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 very cool pics chilli, we find owl"s very interesting birds to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted January 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Ya they're a hoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 I love watching the owls hunt. We had a pair of Great Horned in the one bushlot I used to cull from. I never logged near their nest. If I saw them around I would just stop and watch for that sudden dive from the tree to grab a mouse or other small rodent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted January 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 If you hang a duck box in a willow tree overhanging a creek, wild honey bees are sure to move in. I was astonished to here they used to rip these out despite the population collapse of honey bees. After some discussion we decided to start hanging additional boxes nearby instead. Despite a temperature of minus -11, I could still here many bees buzzing inside! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 chilli ...you where out with who and you can still hear the BUZZZZZZZZZZ yeppers it musta been the cold that brought that on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwl Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 thought I could add a couple more pics. It was a great little adventure out in the woods,heck I even learned of a couple new potential fishing spots out of the deal as well. You just never know what you might find out there if you step in and lend a hand to our great outdoors once in a while. Here is some of what we had to walk through to get to a couple spots You can't quite see it in this shot but soon as Chilli opened up the hatch on this one, you could see there was something crawling around, he cautiously waited a second and out pops 2 squirrels at the same time That was good for a couple laughs, but wait there was something else..after a bit more poking around out pops a 3rd one...so Chilli starts digging out the bedding, and what do you know, there is another one...this one took some coaxing though...I don't know if you can see in the pic, but Dan pulled this one out by the tail , there was 4 of the little friggers in there here is the view from a wooded creek area we walked down of course Dan already showed this one...surprized to find this up in the box..guess if we where trapped in the woods we would not have went hungry..mmmmm honey BBQ squirrel !!! And this was a great sign at one of the boxes It was a great wintery thing to do, a great hike, lots of good shooting the breeze along the way, and a good feeling at the end of the day to know that we went out there and tried to put a bit of effort back into the great out doors we enjoy so much. Thanks for getting me out Dan, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 I'm just headed out for round 2. Both my faithful in house hunters are scared of the cold today and Jack and Bones have prior commitments. How about someone new. Still got about 15 boxes to do. Jack and I did about 10. Should be a couple more trips at least. Any takers can call my Cell 905-321-8062 and we can hook up. Thanks Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Well you missed a good day outside today. The cold is not a factor for the hardcore sportsman. Today I explored rarely traveled territory and noticed some of our boxes need replacing or were just plain gone altogether. If they rot right off the tree, the spring current usually drags them off down stream. Here's a new one I just put up today. I did 2 by myself and decided to wait for help for the other 6 or so that need doing. It's kind of dangerous squirming around on a ladder on an icy creek when no ones holding it You never know what your going to find next. This next box usually holds an owl. Check my you tube videos to see what bones and I found in here last year. This one is in a field at the Conservation club. There are others along black creek but I ran out of steam. I'll be doing Point Abino tomorrow. Ever wonder whats back there? I'll be leaving my house at 10am with my oldest Son. Could use one more helper . Any takers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Joe Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Dan I sent you a PM earlier did you get it??? I've got a set of hooks and a belt and I'd be more than happy to help out. Anyways if you need help let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwl Posted January 18, 2009 Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 give me a call in the morning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AwolRJ Posted January 18, 2009 Report Share Posted January 18, 2009 I will give you guys a hand if ya need it. I work shift work, but have weekends off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Joe Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 Dan I had a great time today, Thanks for the invite. It's truely amazing as to what you might find while you're out there. Anytime you need some extra help just give me a shout. If you want to put up some more boxes just let me know, we can use my truck too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlieD Posted January 19, 2009 Report Share Posted January 19, 2009 drop by my house if you can't find help for something you really need help. I need to do some volunteer work on my resume and would be glad to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted January 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Can you see it coming? Check out that snow on the roof Now tap very gently OOh cold snow in your face. That's what you get for a good deed Joe Joe joined me in Fort Erie and he had a little height advantage. He got his first look at the sand dune forest of Point Abino. Truly beautiful in there. Glad he came. My minds been wandering lately and I almost forgot to add bedding to a couple of boxes but Joe made sure I stayed on track. We reinstalled & relocated the first box and if Joe didn't have all his weight on the ladder, I would have eaten the stream bank. whew! . The second box was a bust. It was in good shape but was abuzz with bees. The bottom was open so Joe did the honours of closing the trap door to give them a little more shelter. These bees will outgrow this hive and when they move, we'll remove the old combs and put it back into commission for the wood ducks. We did find one other box that I've never seen before. After consulting with the neighbours, we entered the property and cleaned it out. It showed evidence of 2 seasons of ducks. Thank you for all the offers for help. I have to wait and see if the work crew at the FECC can build some more boxes on Thursday. If so, I can find a home for as many as they build me. I'll take you up on those offers when the time comes, if they're still on the table Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Joe Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Dan you have my number so give me a shout whenever you need a hand, I'm more than happy to help out and maybe little joey will come along too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwl Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Dan, question for you, while you where at the Conservation Area did you happen to see how full the walleye rearing pond was????..just planning my spring a little Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted January 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 No Sir. Maybe that would be a good pond for a duck box . Little traffic except our biweekly feedings and the family of mallards that rears there every year no that there's a buffer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Joe Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Dan I was just wondering if anyone had looked into the directions the boxes need to face. N S E W or away from the water 45 degrees, 90 degrees etc........... ???? If not then maybe we could experiment on the walleye pond to see. Just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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