What you need to do to enter the Wood Duck Challenge :
Build at least one wood duck nesting box according to the approved plan.
Install the box, *preferably on a pole with a cone guard as shown in the diagram. Lip of cone should be at least three feet from ground. Trees are difficult to make predator-proof, but if you choose a tree, wrap a three foot strip of sheet metal below the box, four feet off the ground. Add another strip above the box if there is access from another tree. In time, grey squirrels are usually the first to beat the tree wraps.
Have a photo taken with you holding the box, or a photo of you with the installed nesting box in the background. Before May 15, submit your photo online here:
Or you can mail it to Outdoor News. Please mark your envelope “Wood Duck Challenge”.
Here’s what you get:
If you're not already signed up, get free entry into the Outdoor News Junior Pro Team. (Join JPT here). If you're already a member of JPT, you do not need to join again!
You will need to submit a photo of you with your completed nesting box before May 15.
ENTER THE CONTEST: www.outdoornews.com/Wood-Duck-Challenge/
When you enter the challenge: We will send you an Outdoor News Wood Duck Challenge decal and waterfowl ID poster from our friends at Ducks Unlimited. (See the official plan layout in your edition of Outdoor News for details on additional offers from our state-specific conservation partners too!)
Your entry will give you the chance to win the Grand Prize. (Winners will be selected randomly from eligible entries submitted by the deadline, and winners will be announced on the Junior Pro Team website no later than June 1st.)
You will gain the satisfaction for helping one of nature’s beautiful creatures.
Your photo will also be published in the pages of Outdoor News!
*Editor’s Note: The Wood Duck Society and the staff at Outdoor News agree that mounting wood duck houses on trees creates an unnecessary predation hazard for the birds. Following the pole-mounting procedure should reduce wood duck predation by raccoons (and other predators) and produce more young wood ducks.
Click to download plans
The most common drawback of using wood to build duck houses is that when poorly constructed, they will last only a year or two before they literally weather apart at the seams. That is why Outdoor News recommends using cedar (rough side out), overlapping and sloping the roof, insetting the bottom, blunting or pre-drilling and setting all nails (Sheetrock screws also work well), as well as using thin “grip” or “anchor” type cedar shake nails 21⁄2 inches long (except to attach cleat spacer to rear wall, where 11⁄2-inch nails are used).
Cleaning and accessibility
Since annual cleaning and inspection are an important part of wood duck house projects, easy access is a must. Hinges add expense, and houses with roofs that open up for cleaning are not very strong. Plus, the nest material is a long, sometimes dangerous, reach from the top of the box to the bottom. The simple side wall access door pivoting on two nails permits convenient, safe side access and a much sturdier box.
An added benefit of the side access door is how it simplifies post installation. Note: Placement of the cleaning/access door on the right side wall as you face the front of the house makes installation handy for a right-handed person.
Efficiency
Traditional wooden duck house designs have wasted some wood and created a real “monster” when it comes to carrying and mounting the heavy beasts. Female woodies, goldeneyes and hooded mergansers prefer this snug, 8-by-8-inch interior box dimension, and it can make the boxes much lighter and easier to carry and install.
Duck safety
A 3-by-4-inch duck entrance hole and an 18-inch distance from the bottom of the duck entrance hole to the bottom of the house (17-inch inside distance) are important dimensions to frustrate raccoons and help the hen or the nest survive an attack. Never add a perch to the front of the house. Ducks don’t need it, and raccoons use it for a better grip during an attack.
Installation
Select a relatively open area to pole mount duck boxes. Face the boxes toward an open “flight lane” where woodies are likely to fly by and see the entrance from a distance. Placing the boxes near or over water accomplishes this, as well as being close to where woodies are more likely to spend a lot of time. Don’t rule out posts not close to water. Early morning observation during the nesting season often will reveal pairs of woodies searching favorite areas for nest sites some distance from the closest water. Since raccoons are notorious shoreline predators, these more distant nest locations may be less bothered by raccoons.
Also, don’t be concerned about placing your nest box close to your home or other human activity. Woodies and other cavity-nesting ducks are very tolerant of human comings and goings.
Install your house via the relatively low pole-mount method described also in this issue.
Drawing details
1. Use a square to align rear “hinge nail” with front “hinge nail.”
2. Use a wood rasp to round out “finger groove.”
3. Drain holes are not recommend in this house design.
Safety tips
1. Everyone in the woodworking area should wear safety glasses.
2. Adults should closely supervise the use of all tools. Power saws should involve “hands on” adult supervision – if not actual completion by an adult.
Lumber
1. Use grade 3 cedar, rough one side.
2. Sides/front/back/floor 1 inch by 10 inches (actual 3⁄4 by 91⁄4).
3. Roof —1 inch by 12 inch (actual 3⁄4- by 111⁄4 inches).
4. Rough surface goes out on completed house. One “side” will be smooth unless you make an even number of houses and alternate the direction of your cross cut.
Final considerations
1. Have you attached your quarter-inch mesh exit ladder? (A staple gun works great!)
2. Add 4 inches of cedar shavings as nest base material.
For additional information, go to www.woodducksociety.com.
Material sources
Poles: Eight-foot treated landscape timbers (flat on two sides) from any lumber yard. Discarded steel sign posts sometimes available free to
conservation groups from highway departments.
Sheet metal cone guard: Use tin snips, or furnish a heating contractor with a pattern.
Angled support brackets: Purchase 1-inch steel right angle brackets and bend to 40 degrees.
ENTER THE CONTEST: www.outdoornews.com/Wood-Duck-Challenge/
Learn more about Wood Ducks:
https://www.outdoornews.com/2013/03/18/natural-history-notes-on-wood-ducks/
