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cavity creation builds new homes for bats, birds and squirrels

cavities create new homes for birds and animals
Cavity monitoring discovers new life
© Sanders Freed/TNC

Wood ducks, bats, bluebirds, and western gray squirrels are getting new homes on the prairies of Fort Lewis, thanks to work by The Nature Conservancy. The Conservancy has been working with the Department of Defense to meet its conservation and restoration goals on the Fort Lewis military installation. Last year, as part of that work , the Conservancy began creating cavities in the Fort’s managed forest to enhance habitat for wood ducks, bluebirds, and bats. We also started placing boxes for purple martins high up on standing dead trees.

 

The work is done with a chainsaw high in the trees. Each hole is designed for a specific species‑it’s cut to a certain size, at a certain height, and facing a specific direction depending on the surrounding conditions.

 

This year, biologist Sanders Freed continued and expanded the program, adding cavities for western gray squirrels, which is listed as a threatened species in Washington.

 

Early monitoring is showing good results. About a third of the cavities created for wood ducks last year were occupied this year, an outstanding result considering the cavities were created in January and February and the birds began nesting in March.

 

Monitoring will continue, and adjustments to increase success are already being made, as well as efforts to identify other species that could benefit from similar methods.