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second edition • Nebraska Pond Management • 47 combination provides a more efficient use of water, as only a 12- to 15-inch average depth is needed in the marsh. A good rule of thumb is to provide a marsh with 50% open water and 50% emergent vegetation. Openings should be mowed, as needed, in dense tall vegetation before flooding. Truly wild, migrating ducks and geese cause few pond problems, nor do a few year-round resident birds. A large number of resident or domestic ducks and geese, on the other hand, can cause a whole host of problems on ponds. Go to many big city park ponds and you'll see people happily feeding bread crumbs to receptive ducks and geese. While this looks enjoyable, a large amount of bird droppings can create health hazards or poor pond water quality. In addition, the number of unattractive birds (feathers missing, deformed, or sickly) in the flock, the lack of shoreline vegetation in areas of high waterfowl use, and geese that may become quite mean and aggressive, are also potential problems. Population levels of these ducks, and especially Canada geese, have risen to nuisance levels in many areas. In fact, hand-feeding and nesting is now being discouraged, particularly in or near metropolitan areas across the state, and everywhere east of Highway 14. Resident flocks sometimes attract thousands of migrating waterfowl during the winter. If a large concentration of waterfowl is present on a pond for a long period of time, their waste can increase nutrient levels. This could lead to an algae bloom that is detrimental to fish, especially on smaller ponds. Where aerators are needed during the winter to prevent fishkills, the open water that is created is very attractive to geese; therefore, if the geese numbers become too high, they should be hunted when/ where possible or they can be hazed as long as there is no physical contact or harm to them. If you are in an area where waterfowl production is still being encouraged, mallards and Canada geese will likely nest at your pond if you construct small islands in the pond, at least 30 feet offshore. Nesting can be further assured by installing artificial nesting structures. Keep in mind waterfowl do not carry nest materials to nesting sites; therefore, manmade waterfowl nest structures require annual maintenance and replacement of nest material. A successful nesting structure may have less than the desirable amount of nesting material left. It will likely contain old down, feathers and possibly unhatched eggs or egg shell fragments, or, it may have gotten wet and contains moldy nesting material. These structures should be cleaned in late winter. Lack of proper main- tenance is the number one cause of failure for most nest structures. It may take several years before new nest structures are used. But, once waterfowl successfully nest in structures, they and their offspring will very likely return to nest year after year, if structures are well maintained. As nest structures usage approaches 50 percent, more structures can be added, since few projects ever exceed 75 percent occupancy. Pond owners can also try to attract wood ducks to their ponds, by placing nest boxes on poles or nearby trees. Plans for wood duck nesting boxes, and those for mallard or Canada goose nesting structures, are available from a variety of sources. Contact the Commission's Wildlife Education personnel for blueprints of various waterfowl nesting structures. Waterfowl can become a nuisance if populations become too high.