...a little pond critter update.
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D-ski and I have been installing bird housing like we have a government grant. I hope the prospective residents show up for the open house.
Last December, we installed the eight 4 x 4 posts for houses and nesting structure. Four of them were used for the wood duck nesting boxes. I originally planned to install the bat house on one post, but I have scrapped that installation plan for fear that the post will not be strong enough to support the structure (it will be installed in the building pad area a little later this spring). This leaves four unused posts in the soon-to-be wetland area.
Have ya ever heard of Mallard factories? I hadn't...'til now. I got the plans and inspiration from the Delta Waterfowl website . Of course, their plan was just too dang crude and simple, so I bumped it a couple of notches. The basic nesting structure, tho, is to spec.
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I cut a pc of old green treated 2 x 6 to 30" long and drilled a 1/2" hole in the center to lag it to the top of the 4 x 4 post in the pond. A couple of 1/4" holes were drilled at each end of this 2 x 6 to secure the 1/4" x 1.500" circular bar stock brackets I fab'd.

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We pre-fab'd the actual nest tube in the garage at home. It is made out of one pc of galvanized hardware cloth, 1/2" squares, 36" wide x 7 feet long. See the website link above for details of construction. We are fortunate to have good friends in Jackie and Rebecca. They operate a fairly substantial farm around the corner and donated the straw and hay required to complete the nesting tubes. The tube is wired to the brackets securely with stainless steel wire.

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Flip up the hinged section and install the stainless bolt pin and tighten 'er up. A few sheet metal screws and a couple of stainless support lags and the predator guard is in place.

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Two Mallard factories later...

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The water level in the above pic has another 2-1/2 feet to go to get to normal pool. It will be just short of the bottom of the predator guards. I have to get back in there with the chain saw before it gets alot higher. There are a couple of scrubby trees that are too close to the nesting structures. HERE IS MY QUESTION: If the water is another 2-1/2 feet deep and runs well back into the woods, what critters do I fear leaping from the trees down to the nesting structures, then swimming back. Most of the trees are a a good 20 - 30 feet back. Do squirrels swim?