Dimensions: 17"
high x 7-1/2" wide x 15" deep
|
Wood duck houses are most successful when
placed over water but can also be place
in woodland habitat up to half-a-mile
from open water and should be mounted on
a post 6 to 8 feet high with the entrance
hole facing south or west. Protecting
previously used nests is very important.
Once successful, a female will nest in
the same cavity year after year.
"Dump nesting" occurs when a
number of females lay eggs in a single
house, which sometimes results in
clutches with over 70 eggs. Mississippi
State University did a study of Wood
Ducks in an effort to reduce this
problem. A smaller nest box was designed
and "dump nesting" was reduced.
Although fewer ducklings are fledged from
each box, the survival rate is improved
and the cost per fledgling is less. This
smaller Wood Duck house comes with a wire
ladder and nesting chips. The front opens
for observation and cleaning.
Wood Ducks are found in eastern North
America from southern Canada to the
southern coast of the United States. They
are also found along parts of North
America's West Coast. Woodland streams or
pools, forest bottomlands, river valleys,
swamps, marshes, lakes, and creeks are
all typical Wood Duck habitat. The
breeding season begins in April in the
southern portion of the range. In
northern areas, Wood Ducks arrive on the
breeding ground soon after the ice thaws,
usually in early May. Young Wood Ducks
are precocial, meaning that after
hatching they are mobile, completely
covered with down, and capable of finding
their own food. They are brooded by their
mother the day after hatching. After 26
to 36 hours, the female remains outside
the cavity and beckons for the young.
Using their sharp claws, the young climb
out of the cavity to join her and follow
her to water. |
