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How to Set Up a Wood Duck Nest Box

Home AdviceHow To Set up A Wood Duck Nest Box
A wood duck box in the pond
A wood duck box at the pond just waiting for a nest.

How To Set up A Wood Duck Nest Box

March 8, 2021 Posted by Judy Darby Advice, Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Ecology, Ecosystem, Environment, Gardening, Native Lousiana Species, Recycle, Wildlife

A pair of beautiful Wood Ducks appeared on the pond at Vista Farm a month or so ago. They are very shy and although they seem to love the company of the Muscovys and Ring-neck ducks and are regular visitors to the boat launch where we throw out corn, they fly to the far side as soon if they see my Trail Wagon or the car.

That’s OK, they don’t need to be domesticated. We do want them to stay, however, hopefully make a nest and raise a family. Maybe they will even attract a few more pairs. In anticipation of spring nesting, at great trouble but not so vast expense, we bought a nesting box from the local feed store, a handful of stainless screws and washers and a bag of untreated pine shavings. Our helper Johnny bought another box at a tag sale and we scavenged two long lengths of drill stem pipe from the Captain’s junkyard. Johnny burned holes through the drill stem with a torch and drilled holes in the boxes, then attached them with the screws and washers.

The captain launched the flatboat with the trolling motor, loaded the boxes attached to the drill stem and a pile driver and he and Johnny headed for the first location at the edge of the pond in the southeast corner. The bottom of the pond is fine silty clay but once he pounded past the silt and hit solid clay the heavy box and pipe stood firmly upright about four feet from the surface. He put about five inches of shavings in the bottom of each box and closed the door. The second box we put at the northeast corner. Both are in standing water so the baby ducks can fall out and land in the water where their mother will waiting and encouraging them.

The two little wood ducks have thoroughly checked out both boxes, but I don’t think they are building yet. There doesn’t appear to be suitable natural sites nearby. All the trees on the east shoreline of the pond where they hang out are young and lack nesting holes. The deeper woods to the east may have trees with holes, but they are far from the water and there are obstacles in between, not to mention predators like the Red-tail Hawk and several Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets. Baby duck is one of the heron’s favorite foods.

Wood duck nesting boxes
Drill pipe used to hold the nesting boxes in the soft clay at the bottom of the pond.
Preparing the wood duck nesting boxes
Preparing to attach the wood duck nesting box to the drill pipe.
Tightening the screws on the wood duck boxes
Tightening the screws attaching the wood duck box to the drill stem pipe after it is anchored in the clay at the bottom of the pond.
Tags: adviceanimalbiodiversitybirdboxbuildconservationconstructecosystemflatwoodhabitatLouisianaMadisonvillenaturenestpondVista Farmwoodwood duckwooden
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About Judy Darby

Judy Darby is a photographer and freelance writer in Madisonville, Louisiana. Originally from Ruston, Louisiana, she lived in Weston, Connecticut for more than 20 years before moving to south Louisiana where she met her long-time significant other, Noel Brumfield, a U.S. Coast Guard licensed 100-ton captain. Judy exchanged a 15-acre tract on Interstate 20 in Ruston for Vista Farm in 2005 and is turning it into a protected habitat for small wildlife and native plants.

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