CA1282290C - Nesting basket for ducks and method of using same in wilderness - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT

A nesting basket for ducks or the like comprises a conical structure made of galvanized wire mesh and supported at its narrower end on top of a rod adjustable in height above the water surface. The nesting basket is used by placing therein a wreath of preferably brome hay, tying the wreath to the wire mesh, and packing the center loosely with hay, straw, or the like.

Description

o NESTING BASKET FOR DUCKS AND
METHOD OF USING SAME IN WILDERNESS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to a nesting basket for wild ducks and to a method of using same to provide for and aid human conservation efforts of the diverse species of migrating duck populations. More particularly, the nesting basket is suitable for installation in marshes and ponds.

Prior Art of the Invention The general prior art dates at least from 1884.
United States Patent No, 307,502 to T. J. Streck and entitled "Nest" was granted November 4, 1884. Its specification comprises three claims which read as follows:
"1. The combination, with a rod provided at its upper end with a bracket, of a nest swiveled in the upper ends thereof, said nest consisting of an upper band or ring having secured to its sides a series of depending wires, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with an upright rod `-~82~9{) provided at its upper end with a bracket, of a nest swiveled in said bracket, having a central strip provided with a perforation registering with a perforation in the bracket of the rod A, and a pin, substantially as set forth.

3, The combination, with a rod provided at its upper end with a U-shaped bracket provided with a perforation, of a nest consisting of a ring or band having secured to its sides a series of wires forming the body of the nest, and having a strip extending centrally from one side of the band to the other, and provided with a perforation, and a pin adapted to engage said perforations, substantially as set forth."

United States Patent 1,084,963 granted to Louis F. Reichardt and entitled "Hen's ~est" is dated January 20, 1914. The device provided is defined in the 0 single claim as follows:
"A device of the character described comprising a body portion having a pair of side flaps formed integral therewith, said ~2~90 body portion also having a pair of end flaps formed integral therewith, one of said end flaps being of greater length than the other of said end flaps, an extension formed on the longer of said end flaps and provided with a pair of spaced apertures, the front walls of the side flaps extending in a plane substantially at right angles to the longitudinal plane of the body portion, the rear walls of said flaps extending at an angle of substantially 45 with relation to the longitudinal plane of the body portion, lateral projections formed on the longer of the end extensions on the body portion and adapted to be bent over and engage the angular walls of the side flaps when the device is in its closed position, and a back portion adapted to form the rear wall of the device when in use, said back portion having apertures registering with the apertures in the longitudinal extension on the larger end for the reception of pins whereby the back plate and body portion are lead firmly in place,"

9~

Another "Hen's Nest" was patented in United States Patent 1,130,095 on March 2, 1915 by Herbert L.
McIntyre. The two claims of this patent read as follows:
"1. In a nest, a body portion made of a single sheet of bendable metal comprising a wall having an inclined portion, openings provided in said wall, and walls bent from said inclined wall provided with ventilating openings, a bottom bent from said first wall terminating in a rear wall, said rear wall provided with flanges, fastening means extending through said flanges and end walls, flanges on said end walls extending under the bottom, an opening provided in one of said walls, and a door to close said opening.
2. In a nest, a one piece body portion comprising an inclined wall, a vertical front wall, end walls, a bottom, and a short lower rear wall of less height than the height of the end walls, said vertical front wall provided with an opening, a door for said opening, the inclined wall being provided with openings for engagement with a support."

1,2~32~90 Yet another "Hen's Nest" was patented in United States Patent 1,167,786 on January 11, 1916 by ~artinus T. Sels. The single patent claim reads as follows:
"A collapsible nest box comprising a bottom member provided at its front edge with an upturned flange, side members detachably interlocked with the bottom member, a nest bottom removably supported between the side members and dividing the box vertically into compartments, a front member for the lower of said compartments detachably interlocked with the side members and resting upon the bottom member between its flange and the side members, said front member having its upper lS edge outwardly directed, and a platform disposed in the plane of the nest bottom and supported upon the outwardly directed portion of the front member, said platform having its sides angularly directed and detachably interlocked with the front and side members and its rear edge bent downwardly and engaged behind said front member,"

In United States Patent 3,017,858 granted on January 23, l962 to Robert P. Brown and entitled "Bird Nesting And Sheltering Device" it is stated:

It is recognized by conservationists and sportsmen that among the important reasons for the difficulty in increasing the population density of water fowl and game birds are the extremely large number of nests which are destroyed by predators during nesting periods, and the large number of birds which are killed by predators during the brooding period, Most game birds and water fowl, such as Mallard ducks, begin laying eggs in April and lay an average of about ten eggs in a clutch during a period of two weeks.
Broods begin hatching in late May or early June, for the fortunate birds that succeed in incubating without having the nests destroyed. The ma~ority of birds, however, are not so fortunate. Nesting studies by conservationists have revealed that nesting losses are extremely high and are rarely under 60% and sometimes are as high as 80%. In some instances certain losses are caused by farm machinery but the remainder of the nests are usually robbed by predators. Only a few nests are flooded, destroyed by fire, or deserted by the , . . .

1'~8Z'~9O

birds. With water fowl, the nesting losses are almost always due ~o predators.

The birds whose nests are ruined in the early spring almost always build a second nest. In certain 5 species, such as Mallard ducks and pheasants, a sec~nd or third loss of a nest will not prevent another attempt. ~lowever, the longer it takes to hatch a clutch of eggs the smaller the brood. Toward the end of the nesting season, a clutch may contain only 5 or 6 eggs.

During the incubating period and as the eggs develop, the bird becomes very much attached to the nest. Toward the end of incubation period the bird will rarely desert the nest. Consequently, many of the birds are killed by predators or other causes during the incubation period. Thus, for example, one survey of Mallard ducks has shown that out of ten ducks which nested only six survived and the remaining four fell prey to some predator. Of the ducks which survive there was an average of only about six eggs per nest hatched at the end of the brooding period.

2~90 Since birds raised in captivity rarely having the ability to adapt themselves to wild life after liberation, they either succumb quickly to some predator or are unable to care for themselves and die. Ducks, for example, are particularly difficult to transfer successfully from artificial conditions to wild life and there is little likelihood of successfully stocking an area with ducks reared in captivity. It is therefore highly desirable that the wild birds be encouraged to produce offspring under natural conditions, rather than to attempt to stock an area with birds bred in captivity.

Heretofore attempts have been made to provide wild water fowl and game birds with protective nesting devices, but these devices have been unsuccessful either because the birds failed to use the devices or the devices failed to provide the necessary protection against the natural enemies or human agents of destruction.

~nited States Patent 3,960,lll to Barron M. Harris et al is entitled "Nesting Support Apparatus For Fowl"
and dated June l, 1976. The nesting structure provided 1~82~0 therein is relatively complex in structure and installation.

SUMMARY OF THe INVENTION

The present invention endeavors to provide a nesting basket that is sturdy, and provides improved immunity from predators, yet one which is simple in structure and relatively easy to install and use.

According to the present invention there is provided a nesting basket for ducks or the like comprising a truncated cone having its wider end open and pointing upwardly when in use, and supported at i~s closed, substantially narrower end, by a vertical shaft to which it is securely fastened, and a hollow-pipe, adapted to be driven into the bottom of a lake or the like at one end thereof, for receiving said vertical shaft at its other end for securing the vertical shaft thereto at a selectable height of said nesting basket above water level at a predetermined time of year.

A method of use of a nesting basket according to the present invention is CHARACTeRIZED BY placing a ~8'2~90 wreath of brome hay, barlay straw, or flax straw, in that order of perference, into said nesting baskets, tying the wreath thus placed to the nesting basket, and loosely packing the center of the wreath with hay or straw, as the case may be, BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be better understood through the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment in conjunction with annexed 10 drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side-elevation showing an installed nesting basket according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side-elevation showing the nesting basket of Figure l in more detail; and Figure 3 is a plan view of the nesting basket of Figure 2, Z'~90 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Figure 1 of the drawings shows an installed nesting basket comprising an upwardly open wire mesh cone 10 supported at its inverted apex on top of a vertical shaft ll which, at its other end, is inserted into and supported by a vertical pipe 12 which protrudes above the lake surface 13 and which at its other end is driven through the bottom of the lake or marsh, etc.
The shaft 11 is secured to the pipe 12 at a selected height for the nesting basket 10 by means of a galvanized bolt 14, ~ igures 2 and 3 show the construction of the nesting basket 10 in more detail. The nesting basket 10 proper is made of 5 x 5 x .1 cm galvanized wire mesh preferably in the following manner. A circular piece of galvanized wires mesh having a radius of 46 cm has a predetermined radial segment thereof cut out and removed. Preferably, the radial segment thus removed is such that when the two radial sides thereof are brought in contiguity to form the cone shaped wire mesh basket 10, the maximum radius of the resulting cone, i.e, the radius of the top edge of the nesting basket 10, is approximately 33 cm. The wire mesh cone thus formed has welded to it at its top a matching circular steel rod 15, preferably of 6.35 mm steel. Four straight sections 16, 17, 18 and l9 are arranged evenly along the outer surface of the wire mesh cone for support and are welded at one end to the circular steel rod 15 and at the other end, after being appropriately shaped to the outside of a galvanzied coupling 20, which is a 4 cm. long pipe having an inner thread of 19 mm diameter in order to enable the screwing on of the nesting basket 10 onto the vertical shaft 11 which has a matching thread having an outer diameter of 19 mm, Now the preferred method of using the nesting basket will be described.

For maximum effectiveness, the nesting basket should be placed in permanent or semi-permanent ponds fringed by cattail or bullrush vegetation. It has been found that the minimum pond size is approximately .4 ha,, in which case only one nesting basket should be installed per pond, Further, ponds should be selected that do not have any overhead avian perch-sites such as willows, trees, or nearby power-lines.

1; :8~'~9 Nesting baskets are also preferably placed in waters of a depth between .5 and l.5 meters in marshes or ponds that hold water at least through mid summer.
Generally speaking the nesting baskets should be placed as far from the shore as possible, but staying within the emerging cover edges. Wherever possible the nesting baskets should be at least 15 meters away from the main shore line. Also, the height of the nesting basket should be ad~ustable such that its op is approximately l meter above the surface of the expected water level in May of the coming year.

The support pipe 12 should be driven into the solid support earth substrate at the bottom of the pond or lake for at least .5 meter. And the installation should preferably take place in the fall or early winter, when the minimum ice depth reaches .l meter.

In using the nesting baskets after installation, brome hay, barlay straw, or flax straw, in that order of preference, should be placed into the nesting basket in the form of a wreath, which should be tied into place to the wire mesh of the nesting basket. The center of the wreath is then packed with loose hay or straw, as the O

case may be.

For purposes of identification and future reference each nesting basket should be tagged with an identifying number or the like. It is also preferred to use reflective tape-rings or the like at the appropriate height of the structure in order to warn snowmobile drivers or the like in the winter.

Finally, the nesting material placed into the nesting baskets should be replaced annually in the spring, i.e. March or April.

Claims (3)

1. A nesting basket for ducks or the like Comprising a truncated cone having apertured mesh-like walls and having its wider end open and pointing upwardly when in use, and supported at its closed, substantially narrower end. by a vertical shaft to which it is securely fastened, and a hollow-pipe, adapted to be driven into the bottom of a lake or the like at one end thereof, for receiving said vertical shaft at its other end for securing the vertical shaft thereto at a selectable height of said nesting basket above water level at a predetermined time of year.

2. The nesting basket as claimed in claim 1, said cone made of wire mesh having a predetermined stiffness.

3. The nesting basket as defined in claim 2. said wire mesh made of galvanized steel.