by Ken Schroeder

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Our “Nest Box Committee” maintains sixteen nest boxes at the Emerald Downs marsh in Auburn. During the Fall 2023 box cleanout, we found a higher chick mortality rate than in previous years. These boxes are placed along a ¼ mile fence line, in full sun and face south towards the marsh. To the north is a very large asphalt parking lot that likely causes additional heating. While we are not fully sure of the reason for this mortality, it’s possible that excessive heat is a factor.

As an experiment for the 2024 nesting season, we installed reflective sun shields on about half of the boxes. The white, plastic shields create four air gaps that should provide shade and lower temperatures. The team will monitor all the boxes during the coming nesting season for occupancy. We will also take field temperature measurements for boxes with and without the sun shields and report the results of this experiment after the Fall 2023 cleanout.