Little Bellevue Waterfowl Gallery
Nesting
Most of the ground nesters also love these floating nests, which consist of a sheet of Owens Corning foam insulation attached to a plywood base to which is stapled a 1' x 2' roll of welded wire. The wire is covered with a commercially available grass mat commonly sold for use as duck blind camo, and the whole contraption is anchored to the bottom with metal fence rods that slide on screw eyes as the water level changes. The inside has a base of woven coconut mat sold in garden stores, and is covered with dry straw or grass for nesting material.
All of our ground nesters like the natural cover- rushes, water lillies and cattails.
Pintails also like nesting in iris and chrysanthemums!
Ruddies especially like to nest in natural cover near the water's edge.
When bumped from the nest, they invariably dive quietly and come up 30 ' away.
Most of the ground nesters also love these floating nests, which consist of a sheet of Owens Corning foam insulation attached to a plywood base to which is stapled a 1' x 2' roll of welded wire. The wire is covered with a commercially available grass mat commonly sold for use as duck blind camo, and the whole contraption is anchored to the bottom with metal fence rods that slide on screw eyes as the water level changes. The inside has a base of woven coconut mat sold in garden stores, and is covered with dry straw or grass for nesting material.
All of our ground nesters like the natural cover- rushes, water lillies and cattails.
Pintails also like nesting in iris and chrysanthemums!
Ruddies especially like to nest in natural cover near the water's edge.
When bumped from the nest, they invariably dive quietly and come up 30 ' away.
Naturalizing the Enclosure
An abundance of space enhances the aviary’s visual appeal. The open enclosure has a broad apron of grass and shrubs such as juniper, azalea, and bay leaf surrounding the pond. Grass and clover assure that there is good grazing for our beloved barnacle geese. Set in the middle of a horse pasture, the aviary blends seamlessly into the farmscape.
Every season is full of activity with ducks on the pond.
