Wood Duck birdhouse dimensions & cut list
The exact entrance hole, floor size, depth, and mounting height for a Wood Duck nest box — plus a cut-list generator for your lumber and a printable diagram.
Quick-answer dimensions
Cut-list generator
Printable dimension diagram
Placement & mounting
| Mounting height | 6-30 ft |
|---|---|
| Habitat | Wooded wetlands, ponds, swamps, slow rivers; over or within ~100 ft of water. |
| Placement notes | Mount 6-30 ft up over or within ~100 ft of water, facing the water, leaning slightly forward to shed rain (NestWatch). Use a cone predator guard. Add 4 in of clean wood shavings and a hardware-cloth 'ladder' below the entrance so ducklings can climb out. Avoid clustering boxes (~600 ft apart) to limit brood parasitism. |
Materials & cautions
Materials checklist
- 3/4 in untreated cedar or rough-cut lumber (~1x10 or 1x12 board, ~6 ft)
- 1 5/8 in galvanized or exterior deck screws
- Jigsaw for the 4x3 in oval entrance
- 4 in clean wood shavings (never sawdust)
- Interior mesh/cleat 'ladder' below the hole
- Cone predator guard for pole mounting
Cautions
- An interior climb-out ladder is mandatory or ducklings cannot leave.
- Use a predator guard, especially on pole mounts over water.
- Clean and re-bed with fresh shavings each season.
Sources & how the cut list is computed
The biological requirements above (entrance hole 4 x 3 in oval, floor 8x9.25 in, interior depth 24 in, entrance 17 in above the floor, mounting 6-30 ft) are taken from the sources below and last reviewed 2026-06-18.
Data basis: NestWatch 'Right Bird, Right House' — Wood Duck (4 in x 3 in oval hole, 8 x 9 1/4 in floor, 24 in interior depth, 6-30 ft height, faces water, 4 in wood shavings, fledgling ladder), fetched 2026-06-18; cross-checked with Audubon 'How to Build a Wood Duck Nest Box'.
The interactive cut-list is DETERMINISTIC GEOMETRY, not an official plan. It assumes a simple back-mounted butt-joint box: the front and back panels overlap the two side panels (front/back width = interior floor width + 2x board thickness), the side panels fit between them (side run = interior floor depth), the floor sits inside (interior floor width x depth), and the roof overhangs. Heights come from the species cavity depth; a sloped roof makes the back panel taller than the front by the chosen slope. It is labeled a STARTING cut list; users should verify against the linked official plan and their own joinery.
Hobby-woodworking and backyard-habitat information only. Not wildlife-rescue, veterinary, or medical advice. Follow local regulations; for native cavity-nesters, monitor responsibly and control invasive House Sparrows and European Starlings per local guidance.