Nest Box Program

Land Department staff manage nest boxes for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. We manage 75 bluebird boxes and 19 wood duck boxes. Each box type is specifically designed to nest certain species. We primarily manage for Eastern Bluebirds and Wood Ducks. Other native species use the boxes including Tree Swallows, House Wrens, Hooded Mergansers, and American Kestrals. These species are all secondary cavity nesters. Secondary cavity nesters don’t excavate holes like woodpeckers do but they nest in abandoned cavities. We are trying to replicate an abandoned cavity for these species by placing nest boxes in attractive breeding locations.

In our third year of monitoring bluebird boxes we are seeing promising results mostly due to adding more boxes from 2003 to 2004 (see figure). With weekly field checking, we can remove undesirable species like House Sparrows that are occupying the boxes. House Sparrows are a non-native bird introduced from Europe. They can out-compete bluebirds for cavities and even destroy their eggs and chicks. Removal of House Sparrow nest material and eggs opens up opportunities for Eastern Bluebirds to nest in the cavity.

We are in our second year monitoring wood duck boxes. The first year of monitoring showed two pair of Hooded Mergansers, one pair of Wood Ducks, and one pair of American Kestrals that successfully fledged chicks from our wood duck boxes.

Nest Box Locations

2004 Bluebird Box Survey Summary.