MONTHLY ICE ID LIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Vol. 2, No. 5 
Page 3 
F. Bellrose 
W-55-R-3 
This project was inactive during May. 
W-56-R-3 G. Sanderson, K. Johnson 
Natural cavities suitable for use by wood ducks in the Havana area 
were inspected at weekly intervals to determine the extent of wood-duck nesting 
activity. The number of nests located and the number successful thus far appear 
in table 1. 
Table 1.—Number of nests in natural cavities and success to May 25, 1959 
Study 
Unit* 
Number 
of Nests 
' Number 
: Unsuccessful : 
Successful : 
Still Under Incubation 
T 
-L 
9 
6 
0 
3 
II 
lit 
7 
6 
1 
III 
17 
2 
6 
9 
IV 
5 
2 
2 
1 
Total 
1+5 
17 
1 h 
Hi 
*Unit I - Predator-proof Nest-house Unit; Unit II - Control Unit; Unit III 
Tanglefoot Unit (not yet treated with Tanglefoot); Unit IV - Outside of 
study area. 
One nest was deserted. Factors responsible for destruction of the 
other 16 unsuccessful nests were: raccoons 9, squirrels 3, unidentified mammals 
3, and tree damage 1. One wood duck hen was killed on the nest in a natural 
cavity by a raccoon. This was the first nesting hen to be killed by a predator 
during the current study. 
Returns from 52 of the 109 licensed furbuyers in Illinois revealed 
only minor changes in the prices paid for raw furs during the past 2 seasons 
in Illinois (table 2). 
