Wood duck boxes

2 boxes are DONE! My kids insisted on decorating one. :laugh: I hope the woodies don't mind a pretty pink house.:D

I used pine 1X12, but it was fairly smooth. We stapled hardware cloth on the inside of the front wall below the hole. I didn't get too clever with the design either. Instead of a hinged lid or wall, We just glued and screwed every seam except the floor. We only screwed the floor, so at the end of nesting season I can just remove the screws and drop out the floor to clean out the nest.

Anyway, thanks for the inspiration, guys. Weather permitting, I'll head over to the farm this week and set them up along the river. And I'll see if I can't get a pic of the pink one. It's lovely. :laugh:

Also, I just gotta say, it was a wonderful project to do with the kids. I cut all the pieces ahead of time, and my kids and I did the assembly together. If my garage was cleaner, my older one could probably have done the cutting too, but I cut it all on the tailgate and it was nasty cold today.
:cheers:
 
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Awesome!! One other thing I used is PL400 or liquid nails and then screwed them together. It just is not a good idea to attract birds to a nest site and then not give them the strongest box you can. I have learned by trial and error! Hopefully you will have some success this year!!!:thumbsup:
 
Good job Toad! A good way to put them up is find some sign post like the county uses to put up signs. I find them at the scrap yard. I wait till it freezes then I drive a 8 foot post though the ice in about 3 foot of water. I mount the house to a 4 foot post then bolt this post the one I drove through the ice. Then attach cone to post. Will last a long time.
 
Toad said:
2 boxes are DONE! My kids insisted on decorating one. :laugh: I hope the woodies don't mind a pretty pink house.:D
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LOL.....that's too much Toad. Glad to hear they got into it! Hopefully they'll get a chance to see what their handy work brings about this spring/summer.:thumbsup:
 
Win97 said:
Good job Toad! A good way to put them up is find some sign post like the county uses to put up signs. I find them at the scrap yard. I wait till it freezes then I drive a 8 foot post though the ice in about 3 foot of water. I mount the house to a 4 foot post then bolt this post the one I drove through the ice. Then attach cone to post. Will last a long time.
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That is a great suggestion. I was thinking it would work great to drill a hole in the ice and pound posts into the lake bottom, but I figured the post would be too short. Bolt two together... genius.:thumbsup:

If we have any success with our boxes at the farm, we may build a couple next winter and try this through-the-ice method at mom's place.
 
This thread reminded me to open up my nest box and have a look while pond is still frozen. Turns out a woody did nest in there last year. But I don't see any egg shells, would the chicks have eaten the shells or maybe something else got in there and ate them, or should there be shells left behind?
I guess also they could have given up on the nest and not laided in there.
 
CMC said:
This thread reminded me to open up my nest box and have a look while pond is still frozen. Turns out a woody did nest in there last year. But I don't see any egg shells, would the chicks have eaten the shells or maybe something else got in there and ate them, or should there be shells left behind?
I guess also they could have given up on the nest and not laided in there.
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Not a woody nest!! Yes you will find egg membrane and shell particles. Starlings were my number one nester besides squirrels. I checked my boxes often and would kick out the squirrels in feb and March and any other non wood duck nest. Once the have 12 to 14 eggs laid in the wood chips the hen will pull her down out and line the nest and cover the eggs when she leaves . Keep trying and make your hole 4x3. It will look like a football. Just put a face plate over the hole with a new hole.Also the escape wall looks a little slick. Rough it up a bit so they can get their nails and tails on it to climb out.
 
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So I decided to go empty the box out and have a look to see if I could tell what made the nest.
Turns out it was an owl. I could tell by the scat left behind in the box.
couple questions for you.

Should the box be cleaned out every year even if a wood duck was the bird that used it the year before?

As much as I think it is cool a owl used the box, is it a lost cause leaving it in that spot for wood ducks?

will the owl claim that box for itself now and use it every year?

any way to discourage the owl from using it? (not sure if I really want to increase predator impact here lol).

I am in Ontario, Canada any idea what type of owl it may have been?
 
BleuBijou said:
Not a woody nest!! Yes you will find egg membrane and shell particles. Starlings were my number one nester besides squirrels. I checked my boxes often and would kick out the squirrels in feb and March and any other non wood duck nest. Once the have 12 to 14 eggs laid in the wood chips the hen will pull her down out and line the nest and cover the eggs when she leaves . Keep trying and make your hole 4x3. It will look like a football. Just put a face plate over the hole with a new hole.Also the escape wall looks a little slick. Rough it up a bit so they can get their nails and tails on it to climb out.
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thanks for response. the nest was shaped like a ball being more closed in on the top than bottom, picture makes it look a lot smaller than it is. probably alittle smaller than a volley ball.
the hole in the front is 3hx4w does it not oval out enough? are they that picky or will that help prevent other birds (owls) from wanting to use it?
the escape wall isn't in the pic, I used a skill saw and cut lines in it about 1/4(prob less) deep spaced as close together as I could.
 
I think something else built over your screetch owl scat. I would find crawdads from time to time. Screetch owls only used the boxes in Winter and I would find a few when cleaning each Feb. Some in the Blue Phase and some in the red phase. Pretty cool and they play like they are hurt until you pick them up. Never had any lay eggs or build nests. Yes , they need to be cleaned every year and 4-5 inches of fresh wood shavings put in. Just putting boxes up is not the only commitment. Make sure by April that it is void of unwanted guests. I have has starlings try and build over the top of woody eggs. If you notice you have some woody eggs and there is no egg increase in a few days or down pulled it is a dump nest and best to clean out the box once again. There is a chance another hen will nest during that season in your box.:cheers:
 
I would adjust your opening. Helps with predators. Your hole can be closer to the lid as well. I would use mesh screen (hardware) or just beat the front of the box with a screw driver or pick. I will scan a few pic's when I am able to and put them on here.:thumbsup:
 
Should I leave the box in this location or will the owl always be an issue here and not let woodies use the box?
I have seen wood ducks where I have it, just a smaller swamp pond in the woods.

Some pics of your boxs/set-ups would be great when you have time thanks.
 
Barred Owls are common in a lot of places including most of Ontario.
They don't mind at all to nest in boxes near humans even Cities. People make owl boxes just for the Barred Owls.
If you get to big of a hole in your Woodduck boxes you may get a barred owl.
Barred owls can get up to a 4 ft wing span making them look bigger then they are, seldom weighing over 2 pounds.
Anyway, Barred Owls swallow their prey whole,. So probably not a threat to a Grown pheasant. I guess they would prey on a young brood though?
Owls do most of their hunting in the dark. I think smaller night feeding rodents are the Barred Owls targets.
 
I think your fine, Just make your hole smaller and keep checking the box through mid april , you will know when the hen takes over and the nothing should bother her too much. Just make sure coons can't get up the pole. All they have to do is get the hen to flush and then they grab her. They might not make it in the hole very far, but that is their intent.
 
CMC said:
Should I leave the box in this location or will the owl always be an issue here and not let woodies use the box?
I have seen wood ducks where I have it, just a smaller swamp pond in the woods.

Some pics of your boxs/set-ups would be great when you have time thanks.
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If you do have Barred Owls chances are they are hanging around, within a few miles and will likely use the box again.
 
I later slipped 4 inch pvc over these to prevent coon s from climbing the posts. I pounded t-posts in then slipped these posts as well as the pvc over the t-posts.


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I made some just have to put them out. ducks unlimited has plans on there site i believe. i think the main part people forget is to cut grooves or put a mesh or wire screen of some time on the inside so the ducklings can get out. besides that not hard to make.
 
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