A Duck Parade

It's actually quite rare to see any wildlife in our neighborhood. We have no squirrels or rabbits. Birds are relatively scarce (due to a lack of mature trees) and no deer (thank goodness for my garden). All we get are the occasional fox and now ducks!

While out working in the yard, I kept hearing this "cheep! cheep!" Then the dog started acting weird (ok, more weird than normal). And there they were, marching down the sidewalk.

According to the woman who had been following them, they started at the neighborhood park where there is a reflection pool (a very shallow pond), about a ½ mile away. My guess the chicks hatched up there and now they were looking for a new home.

This woman following them was doing what most humans do when they see wildlife: they try to feed it. What is it about wildlife that makes people want to feed it? She had a bag of something that looked like Cheetos and was tossing them at the ducks. Thankfully the ducks ignored her and the junk food she was trying to force upon them. (I wonder if she was a nutritionist? Heh heh. See this)

So they marched. There is a neighborhood "swamp" behind the next row of houses, and this is where she was leading her chicks. I had to stop traffic as they crossed the road, but once they headed down the slope towards the marshy grasses, all was well.