Spring has really hit in Minnesota, the store is busy and birds are popping up all over. Denny predicted today that with the strong south winds there would be a rarity reported in the state in the next day or two.

Yesterday morning I checked our wood duck box behind the store and it looked as though the cedar chips had been moved around. I didn't see any other signs of activity and felt disappointed. I put the box up last year and mounted it about eye level to me with a raccoon baffle and according to wood duck society guide lines. I had no takers last year and after finding the box looking empty I contemplated moving it another part of the wetland. After we closed the store yesterday, Ron our home delivery guy rushed back in and said, "Sharon, there's three eggs in the box!" I went out with Ron and told him that I had check the box that morning and didn't see anything. He said that didn't see anything at first either so he put his hands in the chips and felt three eggs.

Panic suddenly set in...were these eggs from last year? The cedar chips looked unused last fall and fairly clean in March and I didn't bother changing the chips, were these old. Should I take the eggs out? I decided to sit on it for 24 hours. If these were recent eggs the female would for sure lay more by tomorrow. This afternoon I went out to the box and found four eggs, one of them still fairly warm. I'm so excited, I've not managed a wood duck box before and now I'm very hopeful to get bluebirds on our trail and not just tree swallows.