Are duck nesting baskets a good idea to encourage breeding?

It may be that your pond is too small for ducks to nest and rear successfully. In this case nesting sites may not be limiting. Ducks are often very slow to take to artificial nest sites. On balance it is usually best to try to improve the available cover by allowing natural vegetation to grow up. A wide margin of rough grass and rushes is far more likely to attract ducks to stay and nest. It also offers cover to other wildlife including ground nesting birds.