Date: 3/30/24 5:58 am From: Allen Chartier <amazilia3...> Subject: [birders] Best Wood Duck box design and placement?
I am consulting with a private landowner in SW Michigan who wants to put Wood Duck nest boxes up adjacent to a small 1-acre man-made pond that is between an old growth woodland and a second-growth swamp-woods.
What is the best design for a Wood Duck nest box? There are a lot of opinions, and plans, on the internet. Some have a "ladder" inside, and some don't.
There are options to put the boxes on metal poles or 4x4 wooden posts. Which is better? How high above the water? How far offshore? I assume that the nest hole should face the water? Which type of predator baffle is best?
How closely can nest boxes be spaced? Is it possible to put up too many?
There are also some reasonably large trees on a couple of small peninsulas into the pond, within 20 feet of the water's edge, and surrounded by rather open ground. Are nest boxes on tree trunks preferable to putting them in the water? If so, how high to place them? How to prevent predation?
