Make way for ducklings
May 13, 2008
Posted by CindyW in : For Kids , trackback
On a usual Sunday morning, I roll out of bed, make my coffee and head out to walk our dog. It’s quite pleasant just strolling in the neighborhood parks and open space. But last Sunday my kids decided that they had to go with me because it was Mother’s day and their perpetual presence was obviously the best gift to me. But that really meant that I had to answer to “what’s this” and “mommy, look at this.” every two minutes. Signing to myself, I helped them with shoes and jackets. How could I reject my gifts?
As we entered a neighborhood park, my 5-year old, the natural born treasure hunter, spotted something in the middle of the grassy field. “It’s moving,” she announced. When we all stopped yakking, the early morning quietness allowed us to hear waves of chirps. We tiptoed a little at a time, as lightly as possible. We were about 50 feet away from “it”. There they were – not one, but nine little ducklings waddling behind the mother mallard duck who quacked occasionally to guide them.
My normally very muted motherly instinct took over. What if the neighborhood dogs chase them? What if the cats hunt them? What if the hawks, which perched on the nearby treetop, snatch them up? What if they get run over by a car? We decided to follow them.
Someone must’ve called the neighbors. More kids showed up with their parents who tried their best to curb their kids’ exuberance. So they did not all run up and scare the ducks. Yes, we saw ducklings following mommy ducks on TV, in movies, and in magazines. Still, the recently hatched squabbling bunch captured every child’s heart.
Momma duck knew exactly how much waddling the fuzzy ones could handle. They rested in the ivy for 10 minutes. And off they went again, searching for their new home. But where? A phone call to the local wild life rescue returned a strange answer – momma duck apparently had a plan. Best to leave her alone to lead the bunch. A plan? Including crossing big streets and open fields where cars and predators could make them all disappear?
Quite a few kids there demanded that the parents escort the ducks. On a perfect Sunday morning, in a quiet neighborhood, a dozen of people, big and small, followed a momma duck and her nine chirping ducklings to who-knew-where. It was a strange sight to say the least.
The ducks finally settled into someone’s hedge, perhaps for the hour or for the day. A thoughtful girl wrote a note “baby ducks in your hedge. Please put out a bowl of water.” and left at the front door of the lucky neighbor. We all reluctantly left the ducks alone.
Within an ear shot, I heard a boy ask his mother whether they could bring back a video camera and follow the ducks to make sure they get to a safe nesting spot based on momma duck’s “plan”. I made a mental note to check back with the mother.
Perhaps that was how we connected with nature – for almost irrational reasons, we cared about what would happen to the mallard and her offspring. For the rest of the day, my kids spoke about the ducks to willing and not so willing audience.
For me? What gift can be better for a Mother’s Day than following a momma mallard duck and her waddling ducklings with my kids? We witnessed “make way for ducklings”.
*all pictures are courtesy of a thoughtful neighbor who never parts with his camera.
CindyW at Organicpicks
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Comments»
What a great Mother’s Day gift! The perfect object lesson-”Mamma has a plan”!
I love the note that the little girl left. I’d be so happy to come home and find it. And I love the idea of a pack of humans following around a momma and her babies just to make sure they ended up someplace safe.
Once I saw 2 grown men standing in the middle of the road, blocking traffic so that a momma duck and her babies could cross the street. I don’t think the men knew each other, each had parked his car on opposite sides of the street. And it actually made me weep. I, honestly, had to pull over and cry.
I think it’s stuff like this that touches the best of who we are as humans, and as animals.
That is a really beautiful story. It is always reassuring to see humans, especially adults, completely abandon themselves to the pure joy and wonder of nature.
Aw, what a cool story!
One of my favorite memories of living in Boston was watching the ducklings waddle around and slowly mature into adulthood. Since they were used to being around humans they were indifferent to our presence unless of course you had bread, that’s a whole other story.
I also remember hearing of a hotel in New Orleans (pre-Katrina) that had resident ducks and at the same time each day in spring one of the porters would stop traffic and escort the ducks to a park across the street and each night stop traffic so they could return to the hotel grounds to sleep.
Joyce: I still worry about momma duck’s plan though. Did it include crossing big roads? There was a report of duck siting on the nearby freeway yesterday. Not sure if they were the same bunch. Maybe I should just trust momma duck’s “animal instinct”
Wendy: We have such a complex relationship with animals. - we have some of them as pets, marvel at others, and then eat some. It is indeed beautiful to see the better side of ourselves.
O’Needle (hey I just gave you an Irish name
I totally agree with you. As adults, we often lose the capacity of awestruck by nature. Sometimes it just takes a tiny little thing to gain it all back.
arduous: thanks, girl.
J: Thanks for story about the ducks in New Orleans. That is so cute. Didn’t Robert McCloskey based his book “Make way for ducklings” on the ducks at Boston common?
This was the cutest post I read today. The pictures were excellent. I’d love to see the picture of all the adults and kids following mama duck and her ducklings…I think it would be priceless.
Beany: thanks
I was going to post some people pictures, but since I don’t know some of them, asking for permission seemed too much of a hassle.
Too cute, especially the note!
A week ago, my family was at a park and we saw a mama duck with 3 ducklings at the top of a little waterfall. I thought she was awfully close to the edge since the ducklings could go over the falls, but then I saw that 5 of her babies had already fallen over and she was trying to get them back! A growing crowd of people watched as the ducklings got themselves out of the water, but didn’t know where to go. The mama finally left her 3 and flew to the 5 to show them the way out. Then she returned to the 3 and quacked until the 5 got themselves out of their little predicament with a little help from bystanders who placed rocks in strategic places so the ducklings could use them as a ladder.
How wonerful. Brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing.
Donna: thanks for the lovely story. Brings smile to my face. She probably thought (if ducks could think), “urgh, do I really have to do everything?”
GB: I am glad that I can share my Mother’s Day gift