Wood duck houses

[woodduck]

Thanks for the nice comments guys. The pond is almost half acre in size. Certainly not as big as I would have liked but terrain features and money were deciding factors. I designed it to be anywhere from a few inches of water to 3ft, with most of the pond being around 18 in deep. I will drain it in late june once any young wood ducks can fly and either plant Japanese Millet or just let native aquatic vegetation grow then reflood in early fall.... sort of like a waterfowl impoundment. I probably wont hunt it just hopefully enjoy growing ducks. I planted 1 Pin oak with more to come for added food in the fall. Hopefully once the button bush takes off I should have some good cover to provide food and more importantly protection for the young woodies. I tried to replicate a small woodland beaver pond....one of the best wildlife improvements I have made to my place. This past bow season I sat in a stand about 80 yards away and had 2 young bucks spar and chase each other through the entire pond for the better part of an hour. It was quite a show with lots of splashing.

 

[Steve Oehlenschlager]

Had boxes for years. Spent many hours with biologists about the best practices. Put them high if you can. Facing water if you can. If over water you will be more hooded mergansers which is ok and wood ducks. The farther from water and mostly wood ducks. If over water as high as 4 foot over water is fine. There is nothing the little ducklings can't get thru. They are tough little guys and can fall 50 feet on bare ground with no injury. Put about 5 inches of wood chips in. They make no nest and carry nothing in. If you find stuff brought in....it was not them. The more natural cavities available the less they will use the boxes. I have tons of hollow oaks so my usage is low but I got tons of wood ducks. They nest in a cavity in my front yard 30 feet up. They will be here in a week at my place. They won't start be siting until April 1st if you find 2 kinds of eggs the hooded mergansers are white and look more like golf balls. If you get goldeneyes they are light green. If boxes are made of rough wood no wire mesh is needed for the young to crawl out. If planed wood you should use mesh.

 

[browndog]

I've been watching this box since Saturday and it had one egg. Monday it had three eggs. Today there are six eggs. Only thing that is odd is that there was a bunch of canary grass in it just over a week ago and I took it all out. When I checked it on Saturday, a bunch of canary grass was back in it with the one egg underneath it. I bet there is about 2-3" of canary grass on top of the eggs that I lifted up to take a pic of the eggs. I checked two other boxes today and they don't have anything in them.

 

[bueller]

I've been watching this box since Saturday and it had one egg. Monday it had three eggs. Today there are six eggs. Only thing that is odd is that there was a bunch of canary grass in it just over a week ago and I took it all out. When I checked it on Saturday, a bunch of canary grass was back in it with the one egg underneath it. I bet there is about 2-3" of canary grass on top of the eggs that I lifted up to take a pic of the eggs. I checked two other boxes today and they don't have anything in them.
View attachment 8667

Sweet!

 

[Merle Hawggard]

All the pics are great fellas. I get a kick out of seeing the ducks on the pond every year too. I made mine from rough cut cypress wood from an old house they tore down near me. I have one in the pond mounted on a pipe and the other screwed in a tree overlooking the pond with galvanized sheeting around the base of the tree waist high or so.

 

[browndog]

Here is another house that I have a cam watching. It is getting some attention but no eggs yet.

 

[Steve Oehlenschlager]

The canary grass is from starlings. They are very persistent. You either have to kill them or keep taking the grass out every day for a bit. It seems that Starlings have a short nesting season the quit bringing in grass after a few weeks at the most.

 

[browndog]

The canary grass is from starlings. They are very persistent. You either have to kill them or keep taking the grass out every day for a bit. It seems that Starlings have a short nesting season the quit bringing in grass after a few weeks at the most.

I knew it wasn't the woodies bringing the canary in. Steve, do you think it will affect the egg laying that is taking place now if I take the canary out today?

 

[Steve Oehlenschlager]

It will affect more if you DON'T take it out.

 

[BJE80]

I don't get anything to nest in my box. Woodies, canary. Anything. I suck.

 

[wiscwhip]

There is likely enough natural cavities in your woods they have no need for a nesting box?

 

[BJE80]

There is likely enough natural cavities in your woods they have no need for a nesting box?

Probably. I still suck

 

[Tree Spud]

Just got to nesting boxes up last weekend, hope to get the 3rf one up tomorrow.

 

[browndog]

Cleaned out most of the canary and this is how I left the eggs. The eggs looked like the were rearranged just a little since yesterday. I did scare a hen and drake woody that were in the edge of the cattails in the ditch about 30yds in front of this box. I hope she keeps using this box.

 

[bueller]

Checked my house today. No eggs, no feathers, nothing :(.

 

[browndog]

Checked my house today. No eggs, no feathers, nothing :(.

That sucks. I am checking the one that had the canary in, seven eggs in it now

 

[wiscwhip]

Beuller, I would take Steve's advice and move that house as close to the water as possible and get it as high as possible.

 

[woodduck]

I've been fighting with starlings here too. maybe not the best idea but I put a size 1 1/2 coon trap in the bottom of the box and wedged a stick on each side if the entrance hole to narrow it down so a hen wood duck could not get in. I caught 1 yesterday and 1 this morning. The woodies have been in the pond a lot but not a lot the past 2 days with the heavy snow yesterday and pond was iced over this morning.

 

[browndog]

Bueller, I have another house about 200yds from the one with eggs in it and to me it looks like a better location than the one with eggs in it. It's on a pothole that is about 3' deep and about 25yds across/diameter surrounded by woods and marsh. When I check that house for activity, there are usually 3-5 pairs of woodies on the water but the house hasn't been used by anything....starlings don't use it either.

 

[bueller]

I'm just going to leave it where it's at this season. I wasn't planning on keeping it there unless they use it this year, the tree just happened to be in the right spot. If they don't use it I'll put a post with predator guard in for next year.