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That Nest in Birdhouses70birds
That Nest in BirdhousesBufflehead
(Butterball)
Bucephala albeola
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Bucephala
Species: albeola
La. anser goose
La. forma form, shape, kind
Gr. anous foolish
La. anas duck
La. –idae appearance, resemblance
Gr. bous ox
Gr. kephale head
Gr. boukephalos bull-headed, large-headed
La. albus white
About fifteen inches long. Sharp contrasting black and white. Black crown, face, neck and back. White patch behind each eye and white underside.
Buffleheads breed in the northern regions, Alaska, across Canada to the lower Hudson Bay Region and Quebec, the furthest south being in the mountainous regions of Wyoming and Northern California. They winter in Alaska, British Columbia, across southern Canada, throughout the U.S. and south to Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Buffleheads, being goldeneyes, dive with ease, easily overtaking fish. They also eat crustaceans, insects and their larvae, other invertebrates and aquatic plants.
They have a thick fatty layer, giving them one of their nicknames “butter ball”, and which enables them to endure cold weather well until ice blocks them from their food source, forcing them to fly south in small flocks.
Buffleheads build a thick cushion of feathers and down often in aspen and poplar tree cavities bored out, used and abandoned by flickers or in decaying tree and stump hollows near ponds and streams.
Females lay six to fourteen ivory or olive white eggs, which hatch after about one month of incubation. Parents lead ducklings to water within a day or two after hatching and immediately begin learning to swim and dive for insect larvae, minnows and snails. They learn to fly at about two months.
Bufflehead Nest Box
The bufflehead nest box has a 7″ by 7″ floor, 16″ inside floor to ceiling, 2 7/8″ diameter entrance hole located 14″ above the floor (to the top of the hole) and ventilation openings in the floor and under the roof. Make a Side Door.
Please do not attract duck families and leave them vulnerable to predators. Significant reduction in predation has been achieved through proper location, installation and protection from predators.
Duck nest box management best practices have so drastically reduced duckling mortality that it's probably unwise to do it any other way. It's even easier. Metal posts, cone guards, near the water, above ground, within reach, side opening doors. No ladders or boats. Easier, safer, best success rates.
Visit the Wood Duck Society. Follow their tested and proven best practices.
Common Goldeneye Nest Box
View/Print Plans
Bufflehead
(Butterball)
Bucephala albeola
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Bucephala
Species: albeola
La. anser goose
La. forma form, shape, kind
Gr. anous foolish
La. anas duck
La. idae appearance, resemblance
Gr. bous ox
Gr. kephale head
Gr. boukephalos bull-headed, large-headed
La. albus white
About fifteen inches long. Sharp contrasting black and white. Black crown, face, neck and back. White patch behind each eye and white underside.
Buffleheads breed in the northern regions, Alaska, across Canada to the lower Hudson Bay Region and Quebec, the furthest south being in the mountainous regions of Wyoming and Northern California. They winter in Alaska, British Columbia, across southern Canada, throughout the U.S. and south to Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Buffleheads, being goldeneyes, dive with ease, easily overtaking fish. They also eat crustaceans, insects and their larvae, other invertebrates and aquatic plants.
They have a thick fatty layer, giving them one of their nicknames “butter ball”, and which enables them to endure cold weather well until ice blocks them from their food source, forcing them to fly south in small flocks.
Buffleheads build a thick cushion of feathers and down often in aspen and poplar tree cavities bored out, used and abandoned by flickers or in decaying tree and stump hollows near ponds and streams.
Females lay six to fourteen ivory or olive white eggs, which hatch after about one month of incubation. Parents lead ducklings to water within a day or two after hatching and immediately begin learning to swim and dive for insect larvae, minnows and snails. They learn to fly at about two months.
Bufflehead Nest Box
The bufflehead nest box has a 7″ by 7″ floor, 16″ inside floor to ceiling, 2 7/8″ diameter entrance hole located 14″ above the floor (to the top of the hole) and ventilation openings in the floor and under the roof. Make a Side Door.
Please do not attract duck families and leave them vulnerable to predators. Significant reduction in predation has been achieved through proper location, installation and protection from predators.
Duck nest box management best practices have so drastically reduced duckling mortality that it's probably unwise to do it any other way. It's even easier. Metal posts, cone guards, near the water, above ground, within reach, side opening doors. No ladders or boats. Easier, safer, best success rates.
Visit the Wood Duck Society. Follow their tested and proven best practices.
Bufflehead Nest Box
View/Print Plans
Bufflehead
(Butterball)
Birds | Birdhouses | Plans | Home
Bucephala albeola
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Bucephala
Species: albeola
La. anser goose
La. forma form, shape, kind
Gr. anous foolish
La. anas duck
La. idae appearance, resemblance
Gr. bous ox
Gr. kephale head
Gr. boukephalos bull-headed, large-headed
La. albus white
About fifteen inches long. Sharp contrasting black and white. Black crown, face, neck and back. White patch behind each eye and white underside.
Buffleheads breed in the northern regions, Alaska, across Canada to the lower Hudson Bay Region and Quebec, the furthest south being in the mountainous regions of Wyoming and Northern California. They winter in Alaska, British Columbia, across southern Canada, throughout the U.S. and south to Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Buffleheads, being goldeneyes, dive with ease, easily overtaking fish. They also eat crustaceans, insects and their larvae, other invertebrates and aquatic plants.
They have a thick fatty layer, giving them one of their nicknames “butter ball”, and which enables them to endure cold weather well until ice blocks them from their food source, forcing them to fly south in small flocks.
Buffleheads build a thick cushion of feathers and down often in aspen and poplar tree cavities bored out, used and abandoned by flickers or in decaying tree and stump hollows near ponds and streams.
Females lay six to fourteen ivory or olive white eggs, which hatch after about one month of incubation. Parents lead ducklings to water within a day or two after hatching and immediately begin learning to swim and dive for insect larvae, minnows and snails. They learn to fly at about two months.
Bufflehead Nest Box
The bufflehead nest box has a 7″ by 7″ floor, 16″ inside floor to ceiling, 2 7/8″ diameter entrance hole located 14″ above the floor (to the top of the hole) and ventilation openings in the floor and under the roof.
Make a Side Opening Door for easy access.
Bufflehead
Nest Box Plans
Duck nest box management best practices have so drastically reduced duckling mortality that it's probably unwise to do it any other way. It's even easier. Metal posts, cone guards, near the water, above ground, within reach, side opening doors. No ladders or boats. Easier, safer, best success rates.
Visit the Wood Duck Society. Follow their tested and proven best practices.
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