Ducklings Rescue

I told you about our visit from the first family of ducklings earlier this week.  There were five little ducklings and the mother out back. 

 Mother duck with her ducklings when there were five.

Well, the next day there were only four ducklings.  We were very upset that mother duck seemed to have lost one of her ducklings, but it happens.  We did see an osprey flying around and thought perhaps he swooped down and got one for his dinner.  So sad, but nothing you can really do. 

 Yesterday she was down to three.  Now we are really upset, what is wrong with this mother duck?  She must be young and not very good at keeping her little ones safe.  This afternoon she stopped by again and still had three ducklings following along, making their cute little peeping noises.  I fed them some cracked corn and they went on their way.  I didn't bother taking any photos, they were still the same size.

We went out to dinner at 5:30 and came home about 7:00.  I opened the sliding glass doors to the back porch and heard this pitiful peeping.  After going out back I realized that the loud, frantic peeping was coming from the drainage culvert at the end of our pond.  This takes the overflow of water through a very large cement pipe, under the road all the way under the condo complex behind us and out to another pond.  I just knew that these were our baby ducklings.  After a closer look I could see mother duck running up one side of the hill, across the cement cover of the drain, down the other side of the hill into the pond, swimming across the front of the drain, back up the hill, over and over again, quacking her fool head off and acting very frantic.  Now why she just didn't jump into the drain I don't know, I'm pretty sure she could just swim out to the next pond through the pipe. She sure was frantic and all the time the ducklings are just as frantic and peeping very loudly.  I'm thinking of what I can do to help these poor little guys out.  It's really dark out by now also, we had to act fast.

I called my neighbors across the street and they came over with flashlights,  I called my upstairs neighbor and he came with a flashlight too and DH and I grabbed our flashlight and went over to the pool to get the skimmer net.  Our hope was to be able to see them and scoop them out.  There was a manhole cover in the top cement part of the drainage pipe, but we couldn't move it and nobody had a crowbar.  Al, my neighbor from across the street hung on to the cement slab and dropped down with the pool skimmer hanging on with one arm, while everyone else stood on top shinning the flashlights through the manhole cover.  We spotted the ducklings but they kept floating toward the back of the drainage pipe.  After about fifteen minutes we were successful in getting two of the ducklings out in one scoop.  (Unfortunately it was too dark to get a picture of the two in the pool skimmer.)  Mother duck was swimming around not too far away and upon release from the skimmer the little ducklings, still peeping, swam over to the mother duck.

Now mother duck isn't too bright.  She's all happy to have part of her family back and swims off.  Hey wait you dumb cluck, there's still one more, can't  you hear it peeping?  Guess not, because off she went. 

The last little guy was stubborn, he decided to go further back into the drain.  Al went back across the street to get his hip boots.  Thank goodness he loves to fish in his spare time and has these because it was exactly what was need right now.  The pond water had to be cold since the weather here hasn't been too warm lately.  Also thank goodness the pond isn't too deep.  Al walks into the pond and climbs into the culvert, skimmer and flashlight in hand.  He had to walk pretty far back to try and find this last duckling.  After about five minutes he declares victory, the last duck is in the net.  We all start clapping.  What a funny sight we must have been, but mission accomplished.  Al hands the skimmer out to DH, he shows us all the duckling and lets him out. 

Well now the problem is, mother duck, who can't count BTW, has taken off to the other side of the pond, and around the bend where all the ducks hang out under some pine bushes.  Little duckling is again peeping like crazy, calling, hey mom where the heck are you.  I'm out, free at last, come get me.   Well in his own peeping language of course, but I'm sure that's what his peeps were conveying.  You know, it took mom duck about five minutes or more to come out and rescue this poor little frantic duckling.  

They may be small but they sure can peep loudly when they are in trouble.

Is there any doubt why we just had to save them?  They're just too darn cute and so helpless at this age.  They can fit in the palm of your hand.

So tomorrow I guess we'll see how many ducklings she has.  She better learn how to count and keep her ducklings in tow.  At least for tonight all is well, as long as she keeps them away from the drain.