Creating a better wood duck hole

Duck boxes provide great nesting opportunities, especially for wood ducks.

If you have a place that holds a few wood ducks and you want to make it better and attract more, think about building some wood duck boxes and placing them over or near the water.

“It’s just basic conservation,” said Philllip Cable of White Oak Hunting Service. “I am here to tell you that putting out wood duck boxes will help hunters create a good hole and nesting areas for woodies.”

It’s all about creating the atmosphere for them. They’re smart ducks, and they want to nest where predators can’t get them; setting the boxes over the water helps with this.

Placing them on land near water requires a little more work. The boxes will need to be on some type of pole; 4-inch PVC is slick and difficult for predators to climb. A predator guard — a cone-shaped piece of sheet metal at least 2 feet in diameter, should be installed on any pole a predator could climb.

“We put out new boxes every year,” Cagle said. “I try to put one box to every two to three acres. If I have a 60-acre slough, that’s close to 30 boxes.”

Woods ducks nest in cavities in trees that occur naturally. With the loss of habitat due to timber harvest and competition with squirrels, owls and other animals, pickings can be slim for nesting places. Fortunately, hunters and landowners woodies will utilize these artificial nest boxes.

For instructions on building a wood duck nesting box, visit www.ducks.org/conservation/waterfowl-research-science/wood-duck-boxes.

About Andy Douglas 51 Articles
Andy Douglas is an outdoor writer and photographer from Brookhaven. A native of Lincoln County, he’s chased deer, turkeys, bass and most anything else the past 35 years. He lives the outdoor lifestyle and is passionate about sharing that with others through stories and photos.

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