It provides students the opportunity to contribute to a conservation effort, to learn some field sampling techniques, to enjoy being outdoors in the springtime in riparian habitats and counts as an upper division elective in the biology major.
Wood ducks are ducks that nest in holes in large dead trees along waterways.
Earlier this century wood duck numbers had declined to very low levels all over the country. In Stanislaus County, the Fish and Wildlife Committee has made over 350 wood duck nest boxes and has installed these boxes on live trees near waterways throughout the county. In the wood duck study class, students, working in pairs, are assigned the boxes at a particular site, and each pair checks their boxes on a weekly basis throughout spring semester. The course requires that students work in pairs, check and report on their boxes each week, and turn in summary information at the end of the semester. Checking boxes typically takes a morning or an afternoon, and can be done any day of the week including weekends.