Thursday, November 19, 2015

Make way for ducklings!
Wings wetted down Stumbling on the ground

This happens every year (though it only got in the media last year). A mated pair of Paradise Shelducks like to rear their shelducklings in the security of the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. But they also prefer to nest in Wilton Bush, a kilometer or so away, then walk the ducklings along the road to the sanctuary when they're old enough, and stand around outside the predator-proof fencing impatiently stamping their webbed feet until someone opens the gate.
The on-duty Constable was driving on Curtis St, Wilton, when he spotted an unusual road hazard - a duck family defying the efforts of a group of local people to get them to safety. Residents had found the paradise shelducks honking at a storm drain after two of the nine ducklings had fallen into the drain. [...]
"They were causing a few problems, going from the footpath into the road, and cars were having to manoeuvre around them," Simpson said. "They knew where they wanted to go and we were pushing them the wrong way."
When the procession reached Chaytor St - the main road to Karori - Simpson stopped the busy holiday traffic to let them cross.
The family of ducks reached the safety of Appleton Park and Simpson returned to keeping a watchful eye on holiday drivers. However, the odyssey was far from over as the ducks also continued - supervised by the locals - all the way to Zealandia wildlife sanctuary, where they waited at the door until a staff member returned to work to let them in.
Here's their family this year.
Having this sort of event happen once -- even in fiction -- makes it easier for similar events to happen in the future. It is a manifestation of Shelduck's Morphic Resonance.

UPDATE: Forgot to mention that there is a reason why the shelduck pair are reluctant to nest in the sanctuary itself, as bad things occurred four years ago.

6 comments:

M. Bouffant said...

Also too.

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

'Make Way for Ducklings' has always been one of my favorite books. I bet those shelducks read it, and got some ideas...

rhwombat said...

Shelduckings taken by a Takahe? Are you sure it wasn't a Kea in drag?

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

The takahē have problems of their own...
~

Smut Clyde said...

The deer-stalkers have also been known to accidentally kill deer during their culling of the deer-stalker population.

rhwombat said...

ittdgy: Despite the claim by the New Zilund Deerstalkers' Association that takahē are Notornis for looking like “just fat pukeko”, it takes considerable obtuseness to commit the same mistake four times on a sanctuary island. Perhaps they are wearing their deerstalker hats sideways with the flaps down.