Duck Tubes and how to build them
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- Building duck tubes for mallard ducks to nest in is easy and low cost. Andy Stott and Mark Shaw from Westmorland Wildfowlers show how to make them. See exclusive footage of the ducklings in action, leaving their nest and leaping to the water.
With excellent protection from predators and the elements, the ducks love these man-made nests. Just a few tubes around a duck pond can significantly boost the mallard population. More ducklings, more ducks - everyone’s a winner.
A BASC video by Tom O'Carroll
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love the consideration you have for the mallards
Nice video! I really enjoyed it, and I hope to build the nest of which you made so well!
Liked the work Sir .. 👍👍
Will this work for moorhens? I am thinking not because they retrurn to the nest. I'm thinking of just a wire platform level with the surface with some starter twigs tied on. Lots of foxes about.
If they are placed low enough above the water surface moorhen will use them. Just watch out for mink or otter getting in to the tubes if they are close to the water.
The construction process is nicely explained and illustrated. Thank you!
Can you block one end off (facing bank) and place it at the side/edge of a lake with opening facing the water? Great work by the way.
It's better to have both ends open just in case a predator comes to the nest. The female has a choice of exits to escape from. Hope that helps.
Brilliant...
its cute how the duckling does leap out to find thier mum so they feel safer
Andy Stott and Mark Shaw THANK YOU for caring and actually doing something to creative a real solution for the Mallards. I was thinking today how sick and tired I am of talk and no action. We have had 4 or 5 weeks of 100 to 106 degrees here in Flower Mound, TX. God Bless You
Thank you so much Connie.
I recently gained permanent to do some wildfowling so will be looking to do this .what you take you must replenish to fold
The true wildfowlers code. Replace what you take if not more.
Greetings from Newfoundland. Wonderful video. Thank you
Wonderful!! Will use this with our own ponds. Thanks for making the video.
You are welcome Christine.
Awesome job! I'm a member of Delta Waterfowl here in the USA. We've had great success with these houses as well. Built a few dozen of them over the last few years. I've tried many times to capture the hatchlings on camera with no luck. Your video is the first to capture that moment that I've seen!
It was Matt Chouinard from Delta Waterfowl that inspired me to start these on mainland Britain! Delta W. is an organisation to be proud of. The success of these tubes is incredible.
Well done. I think this could be the way forward to save ba y ducklings being killed. If all are surviving. I'll certainly do this when i build a lake.
It is one of the most successful ways of preventing predation during laying and incubation.
Great work and thanks so much for giving of your time and money to help the wildlife. My husband and I have purchased some land we intend to build on. We have a 2 acre pond below
where we intend to build our house. We currently have 2 geese (with eggs in a nest) and 1 crane. If we put some of these out, do you think the ducks will use them since there will be people around?
Yes the ducks will use them in time. Good luck.
Awesome video. I want to make one now. Will other ducks use it?
They tend to be mainly used by mallard but other birds will use them.
A modern version of the "eendenkorf" we use in Holland.. nice!
Maybe a obvious answer to this question. But if the hen leaves the nest to eat and when she wants back in, does she fly back into the tube ? And if she does is their any video of a duck doing this?
She flies straight up into the tube from the water below. There might be a video on you tube I think.
What Country was this video produced in, England?
Awesome job! Keep up the good work!
Thanks Brian
Fantastic video...Thank You! I've made eight tubes using you method and technique. The only modification was to attach the wooden tube bases with bolts as opposed to screws. I'm in Wisconsin, USA and plan to install them on the ponds while the ice is still on in late winter using my ice auger for the hole and a post pounder for the pole. Hoping for the same outcome as you. Thank you again for the information!
You're very welcome and thanks for getting in touch. Delta waterfowl in the USA also have some great videos about these nest tubes on you tube. Look up Delta Waterfowl Hen Houses. 👍🏻
Thanks for sharing. We will try this on the Chesapeake Bay.
Sounds awesome..good luck with your project.
Great job guys I will be trying one of these for my dam as the fox usually cleans up our ducklings each season
Excellent work. I'm proud of you.
Instead of using snippers, run an angle grinder down the wire. Takes about 25 seconds to cut 10ft of mesh. Saves the wrists. Excellent nest boxes.
Good tip Nick...makes life easier.
beautiful wild life conservation
In reply to Reality Hunting Tv....In the States Wood Ducks have used these tubes successfully...Check out longpointwaterfowl.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Stempka-MSc-Thesis-2009.pdf
Home sweet Home!Beautiful...Love it! U.S.A
Brilliant, I will copy your idea 👍🏻🇬🇧
Nice 👍
respect for helping the ducks.
i did make a couple of these and they work
Would this work for wood ducks also ??
My son -in law made one out of scrap on 20/ 02. The wallards moved in on 25/02. (although the birds have done their courting on our pond for the last 5years.) Thank you, Dr. Andy.
Great result!! Thanks for letting me know!
A week after the first brood left another duck (I think) moved in and today, 31/05, we had another 10 ducklings on the pond. Considering we have 3 dogs as well I think this is amazing.
That's excellent...these nest tubes provide great places for the female mallard to produce good broods...Don't forget to repack the tube with fresh hay next season (February time).
Good idea, congratulations for the beautiful work and also for the beautiful dogs!
Thankyou.
Is there nothing in the UK countryside that is not at least partly picturesque? How do you get flowering aquatic plants on a simple farm pond?
It is indeed a beautiful place and that is due, in no short measure, to the Westmorland Wildfowlers who put in a lot of work to ensure the area has a high degree of biodiversity. Years ago the place was a boggy patch at the bottom of a field. Now, it's a haven for all sorts of plants and wildlife.
Thanks for your time and effort ... the question you DIDN'T answer here is "HOW?"
Nice work.
That's alot of mallards
Nice dogs
Bravissimi
How does the Mama Duck get the babies back into the nest? Or does she have to make a new nest for them once they hatch out? If that is the case, I would think a bunch of the new ducklings in an open nest would be easy prey for raccoons etc. But maybe the mama duck does something awesome to keep them safe?
+Carol Davey Once the ducklings leave the nest they will not return. They will live under the care of the mother duck until they are old enough to look after themselves but they will no longer use a nest. The ducklings are certainly vulnerable to predation and sadly, their chances are quite slim at this time. It is not unusual to fall victim to predators. It is not easy being a duck! These nest tubes provide the ducks with a great start in life though and they would be a lot more vulnerable without them.
GOOD WORK!! 👍👍🔥🦆🦆
Can you have more then one tube, in a pond, why not a half dozen?
Yes you can have more than one tube on a pond..we have 5 nest tubes on a 1.3 acre wetland....if they do not work after 2 years assess their location and don't be afraid to move them to other areas of the wetland. They work best over water.
We have 4 on a 1.2 acre pond.
Great Project. For viewers who may replicate this, may I suggest that you add in your text preamble that, importantly, you actually do secure the nest T-tube to the main pole. This was a concern of mine, as the nest would readily spin exposing the tube to the prevailing wind/weather, with deleterious effect for the birds. Thank you.
Good point...secure them at right angles to the prevailing wind otherwise they do spin and the hay is lost.
Good video guys,the t shape bar is that bolted or can it spin around,the nest that is? it might sound like a silly question.
The T bar can be bolted into the scaffold pole, or wedged in or we also use silcone sealant as well to prevent it spinning. Ideally a square shaft and post would counteract spinning. Hope this helps! Stotty
I heard very good opinions about the Stodoys plans.
I'm not knowledgable on ducks. is leaving the tube a wone way trip?
+Leon Awee Once the ducklings jump out of the tube that's it..they don't return to the nest. They become almost self sufficient as soon as they leave. They stay close to the mother though spending time with her on the water feeding on insects. They are not like other birds that stay in the nest and have their mothers bringing food to them.
Did you lose your taste for shooting them after nurturing them into being?
Did you actually say that! and i thought i was crazy for posting a video of me petting wild ducks on a duck hunting website, love you man! Tell it like it is
Go and get a room
@@thekienlam7426 One preferably you don't have to get out of your jammies to kill something
Do nest have a specific high above water/land surface? How bout a predator guard on the nest pole?
Eye level is the preferred height. The work best over water close to stands of reeds...a predator guard isn't needed if the pole is metal (slippery). Guards can be used for nest tubes mounted on wood posts.
Eye level and placed over water...they don't work well if they are place on land. Use a metal pole so that predators cannot climb up. The metal pole is too slippery.
Can snakes crawl up the pole or is it to slick?
Too slick if you use metal poles.
Are they taken down after the first clutch?
Once the chicks have left, the nest tube will be maintained with new hay and left ready for another go.
Love your project. I made similar with Woodprix instructions.
How close can you space the tubes? I've read mallards can be territorial.
Yes you are correct, mallard can be territorial. The tubes shouldn’t be sited too close together. It really depends on the size of the body of water?
For a new large site, have them no closer than 70 yards apart (or alongside a prominent feature, island for example. Or a large reed-bed to allow cover for fledged ducklings).
For a small body of water, only have a single tube set out. Then watch to see which tubes if any were used by the duck. There have been reports that some tubes remain unused for several years but some are used within weeks of being positioned.
Also it is worth noting we have had reports of tubes being used by Tufted and Gadwall. Try increasing the number of tubes on a site year by year, when the new tube stops getting used perhaps you have reached your saturation point.
In the latest Shooting and Conservation magazine, we put: "do not place too close together, ideally they should be at least 20meters apart."
If you need anymore information you can visit our wildfowling pages basc.org.uk/wildfowling
@@BASCfilms Thank you for the reply! I intend on placing six tubes on a roughly 10 acre wetland.
We have duck tubes on a 0.5 acre wetland about 10 metres apart on three sides of an island and had all used twice during a season plus another sat on eggs in a box less than 5 yards away from the nearest duck tube. It is a misconception that mallard are territorial. I have had two hen mallard successfully raise 2 broods of ducklings in the same duck tube.
Are these better than the wood box?
Yes they are far superior to wooden boxes.
Wood boxes are for wood duck nests. These are for Mallards.
nice, and your dogs are lovely
+convict 242 thank you for your kind words.
Mallard does not need to be hunted but also doesn't need to be supported, because this species is abundant everywhere. Many many other birds need our support much more!
Ah, now I understand. I checked the channel and found out these people ARE hunters. They try to increase the mallard population just because they want to have more birds to shoot at. Hunters are everywhere the same.
@@TheJacksnipe That is not true! People really should not ASSume things because so often people are wrong! My husband and I hunt deer, turkey and fish in order to get good nutritious food. People seem to not mind the poison the FDA is PAID to put into our food and beverage now days. We provide food, extra supplements and watering holes for the all the wildlife in order to give back and help them (especially in the winter). We help provide a good habitat for them including areas that are much safer for them to have their babies. Yes, there are a good many hunters that don't bother to give anything outside of hunting season for whatever they may be hunting. You can't put everyone in the same category. I could very well ask you, do you eat sandwiches made with meat, eggs, partake of turkey at Thanksgiving or ham at Christmas, butter / milk (from a cow). How about instead of criticizing and pointing fingers you simply say thanks for helping these ducks have a safe place to raise their young so they will not be the next victims to be viciously killed and eaten by the fox or other predators! My hat is off to this gentleman for taking his time and money to help the wildlife!!!
@@anitawilliams5628 is not shooting a duck viciously killing them too? Just not when they are babies... it’s the same thing though. Giving back and providing nesting space is great, but being shot dead by a hunter is a vicious way of being killed too. Human or fox, both are killing the duck in the end.
I do appreciate the video though as we have a pair of mallards that nest at our pond and I’m afraid the heron and hawks get them, hopefully the nest I just built will keep them safe!
@@TheJacksnipe Ah bless. Without the hunters (stewards of the animals) there wouldnt be many species left. The 3 weeks of harvesting deer here in Missouri and the Missouri Conservationist Magazine, and Missouri Department of Conservation that takes in millions of dollars of hunting and fishing fees can now take care of a multitude of animals. Bears were almost gone from Missouri but by reintroducing a few new ones we have over 500 and allow the hunting of only 50 per year which has allowed more fees, more bears, and their growth continues. Without the hunters we wouldnt have any. England used to have bears. Warwickshire County Council even has a bear (used to be chained but that wasnt PC) as their logo.
@@laurenunger1612you sound very privileged 😂
By the way Andy, what gives you the right to live and they don't, they where here close to 100 million years before you!
Great work! Thanks for sharing!