A mother and her 14 baby ducklings cut off traffic when they were personally escorted by a convoy of volunteers after being trapped far from their pond.
The mallard is believed to have ended up in a nearby trailer park because she was looking for a safe place to nest away from predators by the water’s edge.
But local residents feared she could get hurt if she tried to cross the busy road on her own – avoiding sewers and navigating fences – with her massive brood of ducklings.
So volunteers lined up her 200m walk to the pond, gently moving her forward, interrupting traffic on a busy road to let her return home safely.
Adorable footage shows the line of ducklings following mum, under the watchful eye of residents and staff of the East Sussex Ambulance and Wildlife Rescue Service (WRAS).
Rescue Coordinator Trevor Weeks said: “Everything went like clockwork and we only had to stop traffic for a very short time.
“It is common for female ducks to nest away from ponds and streams in secluded places, away from the many predators that hover around ponds in search of a quick meal at this time of year. .
“Within 48 hours, Mom will try to drive them to a pond, but sometimes it can be over a mile from where she nestled.”
“Wild birds are as individual as humans, so you never know 100% how they will react to you.
“We could try to grab them and move them, but there is a high risk that mum will fly away and abandon her cubs if she is too stressed.
“It’s also easy to get confused about where you want to go.
“If you grab mum and the duck and release them in the wrong place, they’ll get up and go once everyone’s gone, putting them at additional risk of getting run over or falling into sewers on the roads. .
“So walking mom and the ducklings is always the best option when you are somewhere safe enough to try.”
Rescuers arrived in two veterinary ambulances on Thursday after residents of Barley Mow Caravan Park, in Uckfield, East Sussex, called WRAS (22).
Residents had seen Mom walking her ducklings through the park as fences blocked her path to the pond.
Fearing she might try to cross the busy Eastbourne road and get run over, they called for help.
The long line of ducks had been slowly and carefully pulled out of the park by WRAS rescuers Lisa Turner and Ellie Langridge.
After crossing the road, they followed the family across the field until they reached the pond safely.
They did a final count using binoculars before letting mom and babies move into their new home.
Ellie added, “Mum clearly wanted to head west towards the pond, but the fences and other obstacles made it impossible from where she was.
“We had to encourage her in the opposite direction so that she could reach the exit of the park, before walking along a short stretch of road and into a field on the other side of the road.”
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Source: www.theargus.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-04-27 10:47:00
