Project fits the bill

Most of the time, Dr. Jim Barker uses a dental drill when he's fixing a patient's tooth.

But in his spare time, including Monday's Presidents Day holiday, he gets out a bigger drill for a completely different purpose. He spent part of Monday helping fifth graders from John Muir Elementary mount boxes on trees at Lodi Lake, providing homes for wood ducks to nest.

Energetic students from the Stockton school gathered at 10 a.m. Monday and headed to the nature trail at Lodi Lake. It was the next phase in an ongoing project spearheaded by teacher Lynda Raquel.

For months, the students have learned about wood ducks, which were endangered in the 1900s.

"They're the only ducks that nest in trees," Raquel said. "They need hollow spaces, but those are few and far between."

Earlier in the school year, she and her students were brainstorming ideas to enter in the Jiminy Cricket Environmentality Challenge, a statewide contest for fifth graders sponsored by the Disney Corporation. Last year, Raquel's class came in sixth out of about 1,300 entries, and this year's students were just as eager to do well.

They kicked around some ideas, and then Raquel mentioned a duck presentation Barker had made at Lodi Lake. The idea caught on, and soon the children were learning all about wood ducks.

Dr. Jim Barker of Stockton puts the final touches on a nesting box built by fifth- grade students at John Muir Elementary. The boxes will be used by the endangered wood duck. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

They learned that female wood ducks look for a hole in a tree in which to lay eggs. Then, when the ducklings hatch, it's called "jump day," said student Niki Mazzuola, adding that the baby ducks have 24 hours to get to water and start eating insects or else they'll die.

One day, Barker visited their class and showed videos of wood ducks nesting and hatching. He also brought along two-foot pieces of redwood he had cut to make into nesting boxes.

Barker showed the students how to make a box, then left them with pieces to make five more boxes. Raquel split them into groups and they all figured out how to fit the pieces together.

Barker is a pro at making boxes: In the last 17 years, he has placed about 250 boxes along waterways, and he monitors about 160 of them.

An avid duck hunter for years, Barker always loved taking dogs out hunting.

"As a biology major — I have a master's in biology — it dawned on me that I should start giving back to nature," Barker said.

So in 1991, he built 30 boxes and placed them along the Consumnes River. Over the years since, he has placed boxes in the Delta, near Clements and in Idaho, among other locations.

He has a permit to band ducks and knows the fowl so well that he can climb up to a box and place a band around a nesting female's leg without upsetting her. Each band has a number used to track the ducks, and Barker reports all of his data to three different organizations.

About wood ducks

Wood ducks start out eating insects, and then also eat plants and animals as they grow.
They prefer to be in wetlands, particularly near slowly moving streams and rivers.
Though they nest in trees with holes, wood ducks do not dig their own holes. They must use cavities in trees or in holes created by other animals, such as woodpeckers. Most natural nesting areas have been lost, which led to wood ducks being threatened.
In 2006, almost 35,000 ducklings hatched from manmade nesting boxes.
Source: California Waterfowl Association, calwaterfowl.org.

He also counts eggs and tracks survivors; about 62 percent of the eggs hatch, Barker said.

"This May, I will have had my 12,000th duckling hatch and jump out," he said.

Barker might be a dentist, but on Monday he was all duck, complete with a California Waterfowl Association hat and matching sweatshirt. His wife came along for the ride, worrying at times when his ladder wobbled.

A total of 24 of Raquel's 31 students showed up, which impressed their teacher because it was a holiday. They split into two groups and took turns picking up trash and helping place the boxes.

At each site, Barker climbed a ladder and drilled screws into trees, then mounted the redwood boxes facing the Mokelumne River.

Each box has a hole in the front, which is high enough that a raccoon could put his paw in it but not reach the eggs.

With the students helping hand him supplies, Barker poured some wood shavings in the boxes to encourage nesting. He then placed lids on top, secured with racoon-proof latches.

"OK," he said with a smile. "Now we have a duck condominium. We're ready to go."

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

jbell wrote on Feb 26, 2008 8:58 AM:

" WY - ALMOST ALL ducks nest on the ground. Wood Ducks are unique in nesting in cavities in trees. Do an web search on them - they're beautiful and interesting.

tosh conn - there's a need to minimize duck droppings around Lodi Lake. Wood Ducks are shy and not at the lake. They're along the river, which is where the boxes are placed. "

Report Abuse

WY wrote on Feb 23, 2008 5:55 PM:

" Ducks and geese don't nest high up "

Report Abuse

carenw wrote on Feb 20, 2008 5:55 PM:

" I think that is a great project showing students who are giving back to the community. I would hope that any educated person would appreciate the time and effort that these young people put into their project. Praise goes a lot farther than criticism. "

Report Abuse

tosh conn wrote on Feb 19, 2008 3:52 PM:

" I thought we were all working together in trying to minimize the mounds of duck and goose crap that our children had to ooze thru to visit the lake. Wouldn't Duck A'le'orange be more appropriate ? This seems counter productive. "

Report Abuse

Comments on this story are now closed.

Archives

Story Tools

Indexes