Belly:

...To have a love affair with the wood duck could be fatal. As migratory animals they are a known vector for mosquito born viruses: So too of course are all other migratory animals. But as ducks do, they congregate on farm dams and natural waterways, often too close to domestic dwellings. I encouraged the dogs to eliminate nesting sites on dams close to the house as a precaution against the (slight) possibility of disease transmission. But also, their faeces carry disease, if ingested in any way can cause severe intestinal reactions. These facts don’t excuse cruelty of course. And the last bit of useless information about ducks; in the avian world they are one of the three species of birds with a penile appendage. I personally prefer magpies: “magpies are to humans as ducks are to sheep”!

None around here Diver Dan, again thanks did not know that.
I have for some time feared Indian Minors may carry now or in the future bird induced diseases.
We live on rain water from our tanks here.
Right now waiting for my ladder to be returned [been four months!] so I can drag nests out from roof.
They have removed a skirting board and hope to get them before hatching.

Dear diver dan,

How did you encourage the dogs to destroy duck nests and, I presume, only duck nests?

Thanks to you Hasbeen, and others, who have contributed,
for making this such an interesting thread. I'm learning
quite a bit more about our native birds.

Our home is on a direct straight-line flight path
connecting a number of lakes, waterways, and wetlands.
At the back of our house there has developed a relatively
large cluster of trees. We live in a relatively quiet and
protected suburban court as a result at frequent intervals
we get a variety of birds, such as parrots,
corellas, red-faced black cockatoos, galahs,
lorikeets, crested-pigeons, turtle-doves, small hawks,
tiny-little birds (not sure what they are), and on occasion
to our surprise - pairs of ducks. Not to mention all the
usual variety of suburban birds - such as wattle-birds,
crows, and of course magpies.

At one time we even found a fox sunning itself in our backyard -
against a newly constructed fresh timber fence.
And at night we can hear swarms of bats flying over our house.

David f:

...Ducks have incredible survival skills and offer a huge sporting challenge to a dog which must exercise every hunting instinct to succeed. The brood will be tracked individually until all are captured and killed: Those not presented as an offering at the back door are eaten.

...Duck hunting was great training for the dogs, they have extended the skills into capturing fish in shallow water; I have one dog capable of diving to a limited degree, a skill learned in duck hunting. All very the fascinating “stuff” of nature