NCWA exists to conserve, enhance and perpetuate our waterfowl heritage.
 

 
Are All Boxes Created Equal?
What Makes a Wood Duck Hen Choose?
OTHER WOOD DUCK STORIES

Larger Scale Nest Box Projects
Wood Duck Projects on Mitigated lands

Wood Duck Ecology
History of Ne st box Use

Wood Duck Project Update
Growing by Leaps and Bounds

Managing for the Wood Duck
Guidelines to Maximize Your Habitat

Questions & Answers
about the Wood Duck Project

By the late 1890’s and early 1900’s, wood duck populations as a whole were being threatened by increased exposure to market hunting as well as habitat depletion through urban sprawl. Since wood ducks are a cavity nesting species, high grade lumber practices, as well as liberal hunting seasons, threatened wood duck numbers to the point of extinction.

"Since its inception, the NCWA Wood Duck Production Project has constructed 1,000 nest box units. Two hundred boxes have been installed on Lake Mattamuskeet. One Hundred nest box units have been donated to the North Carolina Wildlife Commission. We have also offered 100 nest box units to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Over the next six months field crews will be installing hundreds of nest box units on several eastern North Carolina Wetland Reserve Program projects. An additional 100 nest box units have been installed on projects around NC. NCWA Sponsor members are also eligible to recieve 2 nest boxes to install on their property.

What makes a wood duck hen choose one nesting unit over another? Several factors may lead to a successful nest, but it is important to remember that surviving hens are going to return to a successful nest year after year. Thus, we should take all steps necessary to ensure the success of each wood duck nest. Nesting houses which inhibit the entrance of predators will be more successful than natural cavities. Predator guards made of high gauge aluminum, approximately 2 .5 feet in diameter is encouraged.

Wood duck hens typically search for suitable nesting cavities as soon as they reach their nesting area, which is generally in the early to mid-morning. This is because most of the wood duck’s natural predators are sleeping. Also, those nesting units installed facing either east or southeast will gather the most heat and light from the sun at this time, and it is these nesting units that generally experience higher occupancy rates.

When choosing a suitable nesting site, a hen may choose the first one she visits or she may investigate as many as 5-10 different sites before choosing. Proximity to her birthplace, competition with other hens as well as starlings, and determination of danger all play into her decision. Hence, it is important to select a site with a number of natural cavities, as well as good emergent vegetation and brood habitat to hide from predators. Making sure the box and predator guard are free of any encroaching vegetation or limbs will help to increase production results.

Not all nesting units are going to experience nesting activities right away, and some will not experience them at all. This is possibly because of the nest position, height, exposure, or something that doesn’t appeal to the hen but is unnoticeable to us. By installing your nesting units in low disturbance areas, which hold water year round, and offer good brood habitat with minimal predation, you should see the occupancy of your nesting units continue to improve.

For more information contact a NCWA biologist at:

North Carolina Waterfowl Association
4401 Barclay Downs Drive Suite 105
Charlotte, NC 28209
704 552 0906
ncwa_001@bellsouth.net