The weather has been magnificent and the signs of spring have started to emerge more and more each day.

Coltsfoot wildflowers are starting to bloom and insects are starting to buzz about, including my first sighting of a honey bee. The sunshine reminded me of the need to check on and clean out nesting boxes we had placed years ago at the Boyers Sportsmen’s Park.

A work day had been scheduled for needed maintenance projects and as always we had plenty to do to keep the park in good shape for the hundreds of local members. Keeping the integrity of the symbiotic relationship between the land, animal life and the human kind is an ongoing balancing act.

In the winter, we discovered that a small bat colony had tried to make a go of it in a pavilion, but were frozen out. That led to a plan to place a bat box on a high pole near the fishing lake. We knew that the lake waters attracted mosquitoes and gnats and often saw the small bats at dusk as they swept through the area scooping up the insects that were tormenting us anglers.

Thus, we all became part of a symbiotic relationship on Saturday. We were able to take advantage of one species to help us with another, but to do so, we had to help the bats out with a new home.

Nesting boxes set out for wood ducks has been a project done for their assistance for years. Groups like the PGC, Ducks Unlimited and local wildlife enthusiasts have placed the familiar tree and pole boxes near water for duck nesting in great numbers.

We had received some duck boxes from the Northern Butler County H-T-E group at their annual banquet last year and we decided to use this work day to place them around the waterways. Some of the fellows are serious duck hunters, but all of us like to see the ducks flying and swimming around the area.

This mutual symbiotic relationship has benefited the survival of the species and also provided hunting opportunities for thousands of hunting enthusiasts.

The relationship of the duck box story doesn’t end here. Each spring brings the annual box clean-out effort which is meant to repair and freshen up the boxes with sawdust to attract new occupants.

That’s when it gets tricky; the occupants are not always ducks! The boxes require ladder work and opening a box up in the air while standing on a ladder is a sight to see, especially if we get a surprise.

Over the years I have had many surprises, so I am much less shocked when it happens. The box effort is another symbiotic relationship as one species takes advantage of another for survival. I opened up the first bird box and found it to have a wasp nest in it. No sign of any stinging protectors, so I cleaned it out and repaired some damages and we moved along.

The second box was up high and I extended the ladder to reach it. This box was known to be an active site for all wildlife.

When I opened the clean-out door, I wasn’t sure what would be waiting; a squirrel, deer mice, a duck? At first, all I saw was a nice leaf nest on top of the sawdust. As I reached in to pull out the old material, I saw movement.

I quickly yanked my hand out of the box and opened the door wider. I hated to put my face into the opening, but I had to see what I was dealing with. All I could think of was a critter giving me a full facial assault, so I was very hesitant.

As my eyes adjusted to the shadows of the box, I was pleasantly surprised to see that our occupant was a small screech owl who was blinking right back at me. This little owl was a red phase and at a tall 8 inches was a delight to see in the nest box.

Their mating season starts in late March and April and our duck box was the perfect habitat for them in every way as we provided another symbiotic relationship with nature.

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle