Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Wetland development for critters

We have reserved an area of approx 3/4 ac within our pondsite footprint as a shallower wetland zone. About 75% of this zone is open water. The balance is an area where we did not clear the timber all the way back to the normal pool shoreline. This way, the water will back up into the trees varying horizontal distances. I am guessing the water will go an average 40 ft. back along about 175 ft of shoreline, likely killing most of the timber it covers. I assume some trees will fall out into the balance of the cleared wetland zone...good! That's the plan.
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OK, here's the question to my PB comrades.
Remember, this a wildlife refuge/nature preserve. I want to enhance this zone to promote exactly that. My first plan is to place Wood Duck houses on poles; maybe 4. What else?

How deep will it be? Do not place the nesting boxes facing each other. Nesting rates really fall off if the hens can see each other. If you are patient, mother nature will take care of adding habitat. Suspended seeds in the soil will sprout and come up as proper environment will allow. Depending on the water depth and seasonal fluctuations will determine what plants grow.

I like bat houses, we have built a few and had them hibernate over winter. It's neat watching them in the summer at dusk as they exit in swarms. I have easy to follow plans if anyone is interested.

h2Ofwlkllr,
I knew I could count on you, although YOUR ultimate goal with critters would likely be different than mine.
The area in the timber will run from 0 to 2 feet. Then the open water will take over at 2' to 5 ' on a fairly gradual slope over about another 150' into the open water zone. I realize that the 5' is probably a bit beyond correct classification as wetland, but that's how it turned out. I expect I will have decent natural growth in the first 3 - 4 feet of water depth...? Should I sow anything in the soil before the water arrives (which may be many months)?
Wood,
Yes, I am interested in the bat thing, but I am concerned if it will interfere with the other natural habitat stuff I want to see develop.

Here's a couple that work.

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/ORG/LAND/ER/publications/bats/assembly.htm

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/lib/pgc/wildlife/woodcrafting/plan11.pdf

I built a bat house and read everything I could find. The bats just don't read from the same books that I have.

If you want to speed up animal usage and limit erosion, plant some japaneze millet. Now is also a good time to collect seed pods from arrowhead. It attracts many forms of wetland creatures. The MDC website has many pdf files on creating wetlands and attracting wildlife. very good reading.http://www.mdc.mo.gov/landown/

Every National Wildlife Refuge that I've been to has islands for the ducks. I was told that they are safer from preditors when surrounded by water. This is especialy important for nesting. Do ducks nest in your area?

Not all ducks like timber, in fact, allot of them perfer open water. You could plant some areas for them along your shorline. They seem to like to dig out the plants from underwater quite a bit too.

Windbreaks and shade seem to be spots I see them during the day. My pet ducks spend all day sitting under my dock, while the goos stands on top of it.

Ducks love floating catfish food!!!!!

Get some live Rouen ducks. They look just like mallards, except they are too big to fly. They will get used to you and hang out around your. My goose follows me around the yard sometimes and he's wild. He will fly after the herons sometimes, but always comes back.

Live ducks swimming around will atract wild ducks. It's VERY illegal to hunt over live ducks, but since that's not your goal, than they will work great for bringing visitors in.

Eddie

Very nice photos Eddie! That second picture is an award winner in my book. However something is wrong but I just can't quite figure it out.

Oh yeah, now I see it. After reading all your posts, I just can't picture you sitting down and taking it easy. Isn't there a motor around that needs rebuilding, a dirt pile that needs moving or a backhoe job that needs attention?

Brettski, the first thing to remember that there is no such thing as "wildlife". This perhaps the biggest mistake wildlife managers make. There are only different species and ecosystems. When we manage an area for "wildlife", it really is just for different species and ecosystems.

Most wildlife managers will tell you that you need "edge" or areas where two types of cover meet. The whole county is "edge"! "Edge" species are the winners in our society. The great loosers are the species that need solid areas of habitat such as mature forest or grasslands.

All that being said, most of us want the types of species that come with edge.

I would get the book "Wetland Plants and Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin by the US Army Corps of Engineers. It should apply to your area.

There are professional societies devoted to wetland restoration. Here are some ideas from them.

"Weeds" or undesireable plants are your biggest problem. One of the very worst is reed canary grass. I would kill it any place you see it. You will probably have to keep at it for many years. I've been killing it for 5 years now on our 50 acres of CRP and still find clumps of it all the time.

Next, the most agressive plants will colonize your area the fastest. It's sort of the firstest with the mostest win. So you want to plant the species you want so that they are established and hard to push out by more agressive species. One thing to remember is that a species that might be horrible in one area might be great in your area.

Wetlands are first known by their plants.

Now to animals. We have 20 wood duck houses up. One thing to remember is they don't have to be by water. Wood ducks often nest 1/2 mile from water. Bats are a free insect control.
Marvin Maberry is a retired Oklahoma highway patrolman and makes the best bat houses by far.
maberrybat.com Bluebirds and purple martins are other common choices.

In our 4-acre lake, we have 7 islands. The advantage of islands is that they keep out cats, possums, skunks, dogs, foxes etc. Raccoons and mink can still hunt them but at least the number of predators is decreased dramatically.

We have 5 wetlands ranging from 1/2 acre to 5 acres, all with their own personalities. In them, we have everything from snipe to wood ducks and one restored sedge meadow. It's all great fun to watch and work with.

These are some general ideas. If you'd like more specific information, I'd be glad to try and help.

Well, I'm done with my Christmas shopping! Boy, will Donna-ski be surprised! In a way, I hope this will be the gift that keeps giving.
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4 Wood Duck boxes, ready to mount. There are a bunch of plans for these things on the www, but I opted to work with the basic dimensions and details from the LSU Ag Center plans . The Wood Duck Society is another great site for info. Each unit used 1 pc of 1" x 12" x 120" lumber. I started with the idea to use cedar, recovered from sticker shock, and drifted down to the pine rack and used some exterior primer and light gray exterior stain I had in stock. I painted the entire roof, also. Then, some aluminum drip edge, a hunk of white roll roofing attached with dabs of polyurethane roof caulk-adhesive, and the next stop is the pondsite.

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The front panel is hinged right to the overhang of the roof panel. I learned some real helpful tips from Myron the Wood Duck guy, an extremely helpful guy I met online while googling Wood Duck stuff. One thing that is not a mystery is the absolutely, most critical item on the materials list. A section of 1/4" galvanized hardware cloth firmly attached to the interior of the box, running from the bottom of the box up to the entry/exit hole. This is necessary to allow the ducklings the ability to climb up and out of the box, often the next day or two after they hatch. If there are any malfunctions with this simple duck ladder, it becomes a death trap. Then Myron adds his tip to tilt the boxes when mounting and installing, top forward, to allow a slight angle of about 2" off plumb to assure the ducklings can make it out. Strangely, if and when they hatch and make it out, they won't return for the balance of the year. They literally jump out and head for the nearest wetland area to develop. We hope they find our zone a welcome home.
The location of the houses and their mounting poles are planned to be about 20 or 30 feet out from the flooded timberline. When I asked him about cluster or orientation, Myron notes: He strongly warns against installation on a tree or similar due to the ease of predation. We will definitely engineer a predator guard on the pole. I asked Myron if I should even bother hurrying up and installing them this winter, or wait until spring (assuming the water level won't be that high yet). He said to install them right away. It is not unusual for other birds to use them as safe haven during the winter. He lives in a northern climate and said he went to clean out one of his many boxes in December. He opened one and got this surprise.
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Myron explains:
I asked him to further describe the owl encounter, particularly as to how he managed a picture: So, we will see how the weather holds up and if Donna-ski is up for some Christmas present installation.

Hey Brettski,

I'm suprised at the size of the boxes. I have never built any myself, but I've seen them all over the California Delta and Marsh areas. It's been quite a few years, but I thought they were about half the size of yours. I'm gonna read up on the links you provided, but can you explain in more detail why you chose your materials and sizes?

Why pine over plywood?

Do the birds land at the hole? I don't get how they get into the box. It could be that I'm thinking bird houses for song birds and have a mental block.

I have a creek along my boundry that is full of wood ducks. We kick up a pair or two pair all winter long every couple of hundred feet while walking along the creek. I'd love to put some boxes out and have even more of them!!!!

Bat boxes too. Are you going to build any of them? I have small brown bats around my small pond all the time and it's fun to watch them feed. I've read that they are great at eating allot of mesquitos, so the more bats I can have, the more they will eat!!!!!

Thanks,
Eddie

Hey Eddie,
The WD boxes I built from the LSU plans are 24" tall overall. Most of the plans I encountered were similar. I used the full 11.250" width of the 1 x 12" pine boards on the sides. This was one of the reasons I selected 1 x 12 pine. Easy handling, minimal cutting. Oh yeah; it was on sale. When I was a kid, I got interested in and involved with furniture quality woodworking. This, and my perfectionist attitude, contribute to my overkill habit. These nesting boxes follow suit. If you look at Myron's boxes, the pic with the owl, it's plywood. You could make them out of OSB if you wanted to; the animal won't care. There is one consideration that I did discover. They weigh alot. If it was correctly dried cedar, it would be alot lighter. This combined with the longevity of cedar makes me wonder "after the fact" if I should have just paid the extra for the cedar and been done with it. Oh well, I have also been known to spend a buck to save 50 cents.
To me, at this point in my life, I endeavor to build things correctly with the low/no maintainence objective. I am hoping that the time I spent constructing and finishing these nesting boxes will last a good 10 - 15 years, requiring only nest cleanout.
So, back to the construction. I used polyurethane glue (Gorilla glue) and put the pneumatic finish nail gun to work with 2.5" x 15 ga. galv finish nails.
I have never witnessed a wood duck entering a nesting box, but one of my neighbors has them and he says that it is borderline comical. He says that they fly nearly full speed directly into the hole. I gotta see this one. (maybe Norm or some of the PB'ers can fill us in).
Right now I am working on a batch of wren/chickadee houses. The bat houses are on the radar (or is that sonar?) I read in more than one place that they consume upwards of 1000 mosquitoes per night. Blue bird houses are comin' soon, too. I am going to go with the Peterson design. Mallard nesting tubes are also on the list.

I built a WD nest last year that resemble yours Ski. I have had Whistling Ducks in there the last 2 springs. It is comical to watch them get in the hole. They do fly right at the hole then grab the hole with their webbed feet and pull themselves in head-first. I did shoot a 64" mocassin out of the house the first spring. I think it was egg hunting.

Ski, I have built both bat houses and bluebird houses.

So far, I have never had a bat take up residence.

However, I did successfully get blue birds to nest. I was thrilled. Then, the squirrels successfully wrecked the nests and got the eggs. I tried building excluders but I couldn't get them tight enough around the T posts. So, I kinda bent it down and hung it like a pup tent so the tree rats couldn't get above it. That worked. However, they flap in the wind and now not even a self respecting sparrow will use them. I hope your luck (or skill) is better than mine.

Brettski, I recognize that your nesting box is much better than mine because the entire front of yours opens for cleaning, allowing a much more thorough job. I will definitely use your design in building my next boxes but will use a hook and eye (maybe two) for securing the front panel instead of a screw.

Some people claim that the use of a one inch pipe for a mounting pole will exclude predators, but my boxes are mounted on treated 4x4 posts with a shield below the box. If your boxes will be placed in a wooded area that would allow predators to jump from adjacent trees onto the box, you might want to consider a shield above the box as well as one below. When deciding which box they like best, the ducks sometimes perch on top the box, so the upper shield should be high enough above the box, and the roof surface rough enough to allow that.

Don't forget that wasps like to build their nests under the shields.

Don't be at all concerned about the ducks being unable to get into the box through that little hole (and without a perch!) They nail it cleanly every time.

Yo, Dudley...
I am still wrestling with the mounting pole, but am leaning toward use of treated 4 x 4's. What type of predator guard are you using on the pole? I have used the circular sheet metal cones with good results on smaller bird feeders. My reading on WD nesting boxes reveals use of a 36" dia. min. sheet metal cone. Dang, that's huge!. Not only is it big and gawdy, it's probably a real shaker and hummer in the wind (wintness DD1's post on page 1).
I am now thinking about the 12" dia x 48" galv. stove pipe with a cap at the top. Have you seen these? I wonder if it would still stop a coon? IIRC, the correct installation allows the pipe to rock freely on the pole, supported under the cap at the top by large spikes. I wonder if it would bang around and make a bunch of noise in the wind?

I think the design of your nest takes care of most predators. Coons & possums can't reach the eggs or enter the nest. Just probably snakes...

** Wood Duck box update **
Subsequent to a few questions that Eddie asked on a previous post, I have some fundamental input from Myron the wood duck guy. For the record, I had already constructed the basic boxes before I met him. Nothing catastrophic, but I would likely change a few things. I emailed him the same pics I posted on this thread with the construction details. Here are the updates and details.
a) My box design is larger, but will work just fine. He elaborates:

He recommends use of the details given on the WD Society PDF plans link (this may help answer Eddie's query WRT size; the primary diff from my boxes is a smaller width and depth).
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He also noted a very critical potential for disaster on my boxes. I told him the details of the duckling ladder I installed (see the pics on previous page).
...his response:
I asked his opinion on predator guards:
He replies:
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To clarify his practice with sheet metal, he will take tin or aluminum sheeting and screw it to the bottom of the wooden box structure, around the entire perimeter and pointing downward to create a barrier.

Brettski,

Wouldn't the predators be able to gain access through the open top where the photo was taken?

P.S. The coons aren't supposed to be able to get in the correct-sized oval opening.

Hey BarO...
I think the photo with the eggs was taken of a unit with a removeable top. It appears to be a design with no access from the 4 sides.
The correct WD opening is 3" tall x 4" wide. I cut mine with two 3" dia holes, staggered off center horizontally by 1 inch. I find later that the ideal hole is more "football" shaped. I have seen both types, but the football seems more prevalent. I asked Myron if I had made a fatal mistake and he replied "absolutely not...go with it".
I have a set of drawings for numerous different types of critter nesting boxes. One page has the various hole sizes/shapes. The raccoon hole is 5" hi x 6" wide (for the record, it is the same hole for a Common Merganser). I don't know enough about raccoons to be able to say if they could squeeze thru a 3" x 4" hole....or how far they could reach in...?

Brettski,

I'm trying to figure out a way to mount those boxes to trees. I just hate the idea of putting them on poles for a visual reason. It's just me, so please don't think I'm critisizing. I want the boxes and I want them on the sides of trees.

In the Sacramento River Delta of California, they are very common all over the place in trees. Some have Fish and Game info on them, others are just put up by duck hunters. I think the duck hunters put up more boxes than any other group, but I can't support that. It's just an opinion.

If a box was put on a tree, how would a racoon gain access?

I'm assuming it would be from the roof of the box. He'd climb over it and reach into the hole from above.

Would a steep pitch and a slipery material like tin be a good deterent? If they slide off the roof, will they be able to get inside the box?

They must have something to grip onto in order to climb. If the box was smooth all around the sides, then they shouldn't be able to get around the box either.

OSB with the resin side out should be smooth enough to be unclimbable? What about painting it too? Make is as slick as possible.

Thanks,
Eddie

I am only working with I read and what Myron has been offering, but trees are a no-no. Any critter that can get thru a 3" x 4" hole will have breakfast. One of my above posts pointed out mink as a popular offendor. I think you will hard pressed to provide enough predator protection on a tree to provide safe haven. I won't do it. I cannot encourage nesting to provide a neighborhood buffet.

Brettski,

I agree that the whole point of putting up the boxes is to increase the bird population and not to feed the racoons.

I mention the boxes I've seen as an example of what allot of people there are doing. The boxes are very common now and seem to be all over the place. It could be that I never looked before, but when I did start looking, I saw them.

Now that I'm in Texas, I don't have access to good duck hunting like I did there, so it's not been a priority. But I'd love to do what I can to improve the habitat and have more wood ducks.

Currently they are in my creek and we can see them flying up and down the creek late in the evening. They must be nesting in the trees someplace, but who knows how many eggs are lost to predation?

I'm looking forward to see how your boxes look when you mount them. Maybe I'll change my mind about the poles.

Thanks,
Eddie

Hey, here's a thought about you noticing the number of these boxes and their sizes. I noted above that I have this printout of a bunch of critter nesting boxes. For the most part, they are ALL shaped the same. The only variable is their outside dimensions and the hole size/shape. The raccoon box...same shape. Even the pileated woodpecker box looks similar; just smaller.