American Chestnut Land Trust

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The Wood Ducks are in Full Swing this Spring at ACLT

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A large clutch of eggs in one of ACLT’s wood duck nesting boxes (photo courtesy of Bob Field).

Spring started early this year for wood ducks in the Parkers Creek watershed, with the first egg laid on February 23rd. According to local wood duck box monitors, affectionately known as “duckers”, this is the first egg of the season recorded in the county. For years, ACLT has participated in the Maryland Wood Duck Box Initiative with the Calvert County Natural Resources Division and private citizens to install and check wood duck nesting boxes in order to provide habitat and monitor populations around Calvert’s waterways. The program relies on dedicated volunteers who regularly make observations and collect data, such as number of eggs laid and hatchling success, from over 50 nest boxes at seven sites.

One of ACLT’s wood duck box project coordinators, Bob Field, reports that there are currently hens sitting on eggs in four of our 15 nest boxes, including one on Parkers Creek. This is exciting news for everyone involved with the project. Last season was the first time any of the boxes located on Parkers Creek were used, so seeing one of these hens return to nest there is a good sign.

ACLT “ducker” Sandy Foley checks a nesting box (photo courtesy of Bob Field).

The clutch sizes for ACLT’s nesting boxes currently range from 10-13 eggs, which is average for wood ducks whose clutches usually range anywhere in size from 6 to 16 eggs. Nesting boxes located in the Horse Swamp have historically been the most productive at ACLT, with some boxes having two clutches by different hens. Last year ACLT saw a 100% hatch rate for 37 eggs, which is the highest among recorded sites in the county. Although nesting boxes at ACLT tend to be underutilized, occupied boxes have been generally very successful with high hatch rates season after season.

This year has gotten off to a great start for both the wood ducks and all of us who appreciate them at ACLT. Thanks to our membership and volunteers, we provide habitat and monitoring for wood ducks in the Parkers Creek watershed. Stay tuned for more updates on ACLT’s wood ducks and our part in the Maryland Wood Duck Box Initiative.

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Earth Day at 50 – Are We Doing Enough?

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The short answer is no. We’re not. Many of us are old enough to remember the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 but many were not yet born or only remember doing simple things like trash pickups or arts and crafts to mark the one day a year. Many are not aware of its history and the significant changes it brought about.  

“On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans — at the time, 10% of the total population of the United States — took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment.” –earthday.org

Despite the fact that the first Earth Day resulted in the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts, celebrating the Earth one day a year is not enough and never has been. To have a real impact, we as individuals need to make permanent lifestyle changes every single day of the year to live more sustainably. And to have a real impact, we need to start making those changes now.

Climate Change, Deforestation, Water Quality and Scarcity, Waste Disposal, Pollution, and on and on and on. The environmental challenges we’re facing now can be overwhelming. It’s very tempting to believe there is nothing we can do about it as individuals.  But we must. If enough of us commit to living more sustainably, we can and will make a difference. We must.

Today marks 50 days until the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. We here at ACLT we love doing experiments and taking on challenges. In fact, one of the strategies of ACLT’s 5-Year Plan (2019-2023) is to “lead by example in environmental stewardship whenever possible.”

So let’s try this … every day for the next 50 days, check out our daily posts about how you can live a more sustainable lifestyle and start making those small changes. When we finally get to Earth Day on April 22nd, let’s see how many of us have made substantial changes in the way we think, shop, eat, and live.

Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to see our daily posts. You don’t use social media? Not a problem … our website now shows our live Facebook stream so that no one has to miss a thing!

ACLT’s Earth Day Events:

April 19th – Earth Day 5K Trail Run/Hike

April 25th – Earth Day-Themed Guided Family Hike & Bring-Your-Own-Picnic

April 26th – Earth Day Cleanup – More Details to be announced soon!

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Spring!

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It is spring! (Finally!!!) Time to hit the ACLT trails to enjoy the spring flowers. Last Sunday was a beautiful day – crisp and sunny.  The trails were awash with a scintillating display of early spring wildflowers – especially the Horse Swamp trail.

Nothing out of the ordinary but how invigorating to be out in a restful setting with the freshness of a new year. The liriodendrons were turning green, the maple trees with their red buds were clearly discernable, and the frogs were singing. Beautiful.

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