Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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 `-
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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
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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,"
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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."
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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
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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
, . . .
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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.
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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
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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
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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,
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
