Has anyone made a duck pond?

[Bszweda]

My property has a decent amount of tillable, which is frequently flooded two 6 acres fields and a smaller 1.6 acre one. It sits right next to a creek and when we get 2 inches of rain it looks like a swimming pool. It drains off with a few days depending if we get more rain. The historical records say we get a rain event of 2 inches of rain in a day around 1.5 times a year. It got me thinking about trying to make a duck pond like 6 to 12 inches deep to try and attract ducks and possibly hunt them. I was thinking of doing it in the 1.6 acre field, but would be open to the larger ones if needed. The creek has wood ducks in it, but I wouldn't consider it great habitat. I thought about throwing millet or rice on the edge of the creek,but don't know if I'd be wasting my time. Creek banks seem somewhat steep. Anyone got any recommendations or consultants that might be able to provide their input?.

Thanks,
Brad

 

[Mortenson]

@H20fwler

 

[SwampCat]

Can you pump out of the creek? Might be easiest to what you are talking about with a rice levee plow - but may not have any in your area

 

[Bszweda]

I don't know if it's legal to pump or drain water into the creek without contacting the core of engineers and getting their approval. I do have an arestian well on the property that naturally pumps out water. I think I could probably drill a well similar to that in any of those field locations to have water flood the field.

 

[Telemark]

Do you have excavating equipment?

 

[Bszweda]

Do you have excavating equipment?

No ... id pay someone to do all the dirt work

 

[Telemark]

Seems expensive for a duck pond. How much would it cost to have someone build the pond?

Do ducks already use the flooded field?

 

[Bszweda]

That's what I'm trying to figure out. If the land is setup to naturally hold water it might not be too expensive. If it isn't it can cost a lot. I've only seen wood ducks in the creek. It's only flooded once since I've had it and no crops so I don't know.

 

[SwampCat]

The problem is, if you are only holding six to twelve inches of water and you have no way to add water - you may not have any water come duck season. If you put a well in, does the cost justify he benefit?

 

[Telemark]

That's what I'm trying to figure out. If the land is setup to naturally hold water it might not be too expensive. If it isn't it can cost a lot. I've only seen wood ducks in the creek. It's only flooded once since I've had it and no crops so I don't know.

I would just plant the field in Dutch white clover, medium red clover, Japanese millet, and brown top millet this year and see how it goes. The clovers will hopefully hold the soil in place to prevent erosion, and the millet adds structure to the plot and duck food. The clover could also act as duck food for mallards and such.

You might get deer, you might get ducks. Maybe even doves, geese, and turkeys. It's a cheap way to get crops in the ground to see how the field floods and how animals use it.

I've never seen wood ducks use a flooded field. The ones near me stay in creeks and ponds in the forest and eat acorns and berries. Mallards, on the other hand, seem to love flooded fields and lawns. You could even plonk a few decoys in the flooded field to attract more ducks.

If the field does flood, you can take pictures and mark the edges of the water to give an idea of where and how to build a potential pond in the future so that the natural flooding helps fill it.

I like to give new projects a test run as cheaply as possible to prove the concept before I put additional money into it. If you build a pond and ducks don't use it, then you're left with an expensive ornamental pond that would cost even more money to undo.

The site sounds like it has good potential, so I think it's worth at least trying out a few things. Then you can decide down the road if you want to build a pond and what kind. I like to get the most out of improvements, so you might even be able to convert the field into foodplot, watering hole, duck pond, dove field, and even a fish pond all in the same project.

 

[SD51555]

If that’s all the deeper you want to go, a Cat 299 rented could do that in one day. I’d strip off the topsoil, put that aside, take out a foot of subsoil and use it to build a pile in which to put on a hunting blind. Push the topsoil back in.

A 299 has about the same power as a small dozer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SwampCat]

I would also opt for a flashboard riser to manipulate the water levels if not using the equivalent of rice levees. What is the inflow like - is it subdued after a big rain - or is it a raging torrent?

 

[Bszweda]

Here was from the flood event. That's looking into one of the 6 acre fields. The farmer doesn't want to farm the 1.6 acre field so I'm gonna probably do a milo, and screening mix. That 1.6 acre seems to always have pheasants in it and the occasional turkey. I never duck hunted so maybe I'll just try and blast one from the creek, and keep it simple.

 

[Telemark]

The.grass is the 1.6 acre field?