Wood Duck nest box
Published dimensions, a cut list for 3/4 in. exterior plywood, and the placement rules that decide whether the brood survives. The entrance is 3–4 in. — cut it to the smaller figure if the range gives you a choice, because a hole bored oversize cannot be made smaller and lets European Starlings in.
Wood Duck
- Entrance hole 3–4 in.76–102 mm
- Hole above floor 16–19 in.406–483 mm
- Floor 10 × 10 in.254 × 254 mm
- Cavity depth 24 in.610 mm
- Mounting height 10–20 ft3–6.1 m
Habitat and placement: Wooded swamps, beaver ponds, slow rivers, and marsh edges. Mount over water where possible, or within about 100 ft of the shoreline.
Spacing between boxes: Keep boxes out of sight of one another. Boxes in a visible row cause dump nesting, where several hens pile eggs into one box and none of them hatch.
Predator guard: Mandatory: a cone baffle below a box on a pole in water, or a wraparound guard on a land-mounted post. Raccoons destroy unguarded Wood Duck boxes reliably.
When to install: Winter, before February. Add 3–4 in. of wood shavings — hens add only down, not nest material.
Notes: This is a big box: 10 × 10 in. floor and a full 24 in. of depth. Building from a 1×10 gives a 9 1/4 in. floor, which NestWatch lists and which works fine. The interior wall below the hole must be rough-cut or fitted with hardware cloth, or ducklings cannot climb out the morning after hatch.
Dimensions from: NestWatch; Ducks Unlimited and state wildlife agency plans
No perch. Ever. A perch gives predators and House Sparrows a grip — cavity nesters do not need one.
Cut list
Every board you need, sized so the assembled box matches the published interior above. Pick your stock — the list updates.
3/4 in. exterior plywood · about 14 linear feet including waste
| Qty | Piece | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Floor | 10 × 10 in. | Trim about 1/4 in. off each corner for drainage. |
| 2 | Side | 10 × 26 1/4 in. | Bevel the top edge: 24 3/4 in. at the front rising to 26 1/4 in. at the back. |
| 1 | Back | 11 1/2 × 34 1/4 in. | Runs 4 in. above and 4 in. below the box for mounting screws. |
| 1 | Front | 11 1/2 × 24 3/4 in. | Cut the entrance as a 4 in. wide × 3 in. high oval, not a round hole — it admits a hen and excludes far more raccoon than a 4 in. circle would. Centre it side to side, 19 3/4 in. up from the bottom edge. |
| 1 | Roof | 14 1/2 × 13 1/2 in. | Overhangs 3 in. at the front and 1 in. each side; butts against the back board. |
Before you cut
- Untreated wood, 3/4 in. thick. Cedar, cypress, or pine. Never pressure-treated, and never paint or stain the interior.
- Score the inside face below the entrance so nestlings can climb out. Smooth plywood traps them.
- Drainage and ventilation. Trim the floor corners; leave gaps or drill holes near the top.
- Make one side or the front open so you can monitor and clean between broods.
- Baffle on a smooth metal pole. This matters more than height, orientation, or anything else on this page.
When and where to put up a nest box — timing by region, habitat matching, orientation, and predator guards that actually work.
Other species
- American Kestrel 3 in.
- Prothonotary Warbler 1 1/8–1 1/4 in.
- Purple Martin 2–2 1/2 in.