How to Install a Wooden Duck Nest Box

Wood ducks are one of several species that nest in hollows in trees or wooden nest boxes.

Wooden nest boxes offer ducks an ideal location for ducks to nest and reproduce. Improvements to nesting and brood success are possible with the proper installation and placement of the duck nest box. A good location and installation protects the ducklings from predators and gives them a better chance to develop into adult ducks.

Things You'll Need

• Metal pole
• Wooden duck nest box
• Shovel
• Post hole auger

Instructions

Installing a Wooden Duck Nest Box

1. Place a metal pole in the ground. Locate the pole near standing water and among dead trees standing in the water. A 4-inch pipe set 2 to 3 feet in the ground is ideal. Excavate the hole with a post hole auger, place the pole and tamp the dirt back in place around the pole.

2. Attach the wooden nest box to the pole about 5 feet above ground level. Place the nest box on the pole with the entrance hole facing the water. Attach a metal predator guard, a circle of light sheet metal bolted in place around the pole, about a foot below the nest box.

3. Clear any branches that obstruct the flight approaches to the nest box.

Tips & Warnings

• Mounting the nest box on a metal pole is ideal, although some nest boxes are attached to trees. Raccoons, skunks and other animals that prey on eggs and ducklings are unable to climb the metal pole where trees provide these predators easy access. Trees are also the occasional target of beavers, which could bring your wooden duck nest box to the ground. Poplar and birch are the most common trees beaver feed on.

• The floor of the nest box can be level or tilted slightly forward. The slight tilt helps the ducklings reach the opening when they are ready to exit the next box.

• Maintain the nest box year-round. Biologists with Ducks Unlimited say some waterfowl check out nesting sites in the fall for use when they return the next spring.

• Acquire permission for installing a wooden duck nest box on land other than property you own. While many landowners will appreciate the addition of a nest box to their property, they still have the right to refuse.

Resources

• Ducks: Build a Duck Nest Box