Photograph by Joe Mac Hudspeth, Jr. · www.southernfocus.com
News and Events
Nest Box Project a Success!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Photo by Rob Heflin.
This past spring, over 30 prothonotary warbler nest boxes were installed on the banks of Sky and Four Mile Lakes in Humphrey’s County. Initiated by Rob Heflin (MDWFP Conservation Officer), the resulting partnership included MDWFP, NRCS, Delta Wildlife, and numerous private individuals who have assisted with the installation and maintenance of these structures. In addition to warbler boxes, bluebird and wood duck boxes were also placed in the area. Although high waters somewhat restricted nest box use, when Rob and Kevin Hogue checked the boxes in late April they found several boxes with active nests!
Although Carolina Wrens were also found nesting in the boxes, at least three active prothonotary warbler nests were also found. The nests contained from 1 to 6 eggs indicating that some warblers may have still been laying eggs. Interestingly, a brown-headed cowbird decided to lay an egg in one of the warbler nests. Cowbirds will lay their eggs in the nests of smaller species of birds where the cowbird chick will out-compete his un-related siblings for food, generally resulting in mortality of the chicks that are supposed to be there. Two of the nests were constructed using Spanish moss as base and then lined with dead cypress needles. The third was constructed exclusively from moss with a tunnel leading from the entrance down to the nest. Hopefully, as time progresses and floodwaters recede, we will see more nest boxes put to use and more prothonotary warblers in the swamps and sloughs of the Mississippi Delta.