Use of elevated nest baskets by ducks

Open-top nest baskets were mounted on upright metal poles in various wetlands to assess the value of baskets as a potential technique for increasing duck nest success. Observations were made from 1966-1968 in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin and were continued through 1973 in North Dakota. Baskets were used most readily in the prairie pothole region; of the 1,038 basket nest sites provided during 1966-68, 392 contained clutches of eggs (38 percent), and 324 (83 percent) hatched. Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) initiated 98 percent of these nests. Factors affecting nest success included human disturbance, nesting material, egg freezing, and avian predation.