On 19th April we hardy planters were surprised to see, walking along our Allotment pathway a mummy duck followed by thirteen babies. The gates were closed so we were amazed to find them there.
We are alongside a busy road to one side a railway to another and a Motorway along a third. The public footpath on the fourth does lead to a public park with a pond. But that is half a mile away. Our site has rat poison and no doubt several varieties of slug bait laid about.
Eventually mum found her way into a green house which had been left with the door open, she went to the back end and with the babes under her wings
dropped asleep.
Because of our location we contacted the RSPCA for advice and were told to just leave them alone and let nature take it's course. The reasoning was:-
Interfering could panic the mother and make the matter worse.
Eventually the member with the green house wanted to go home and close his green house door, so after letting mum and the chicks enjoy a warm rest for a couple of ours, two kindly gents herded them gently onto the foot path in the direction of the pond.
We are all hoping that they will enjoy a long and happy life in the wild, where they belong.
It was a delightful sight to see but sadly not one person had a camera with them to record the event.
