One good quack deserves another
Yesterday I was walking in the downtown area, when I observed all 5 lanes of a major one way traffic artery come to a complete stop while a mother mallard duck and her 8 freshly hatched ducklings waddled across the street.
She must have nested a good 8 blocks from the nearest access point to our rivers (why she would do that i have no idea) and now that the brood was on line, she was making her way towards the river.
The very first curb they encountered .....not all of the ducklings could make the leap up, and with traffic halted for them I decided to pitch in and scooped a couple up in my palms (while mother watched intently) and helped them along their way. The same 3 had problems at every curb encountered
She knew right where she was going, leading all 8 down one side walk, and making the correct turns at the correct streets to get to the river.
Knowing there were two more major arteries for her to cross along the way, I decided to accompany them, and play traffic cop at the busiest crossings.
Surprising to me was the mother's ability to navigate our city street system, making the correct turns and cutting across the correct lots to get to the river. Not sure if she had mentally mapped the terrain from her times flying over it, or if she just knew what general direction the water was, and was wandering along by instinct.
She must have nested a good 8 blocks from the nearest access point to our rivers (why she would do that i have no idea) and now that the brood was on line, she was making her way towards the river.
The very first curb they encountered .....not all of the ducklings could make the leap up, and with traffic halted for them I decided to pitch in and scooped a couple up in my palms (while mother watched intently) and helped them along their way. The same 3 had problems at every curb encountered
She knew right where she was going, leading all 8 down one side walk, and making the correct turns at the correct streets to get to the river.
Knowing there were two more major arteries for her to cross along the way, I decided to accompany them, and play traffic cop at the busiest crossings.
Surprising to me was the mother's ability to navigate our city street system, making the correct turns and cutting across the correct lots to get to the river. Not sure if she had mentally mapped the terrain from her times flying over it, or if she just knew what general direction the water was, and was wandering along by instinct.
Comments
Edward Gardner, 38, was hit by a limousine at 9:30 a.m. while attempting to save the ducklings near the O'Hare Oasis around Schiller Park.
"[It was] no surprise to me when I found out that he lost his life trying to save another life," said Jim Gollwitzer, a family friend who'd known Gardner for more than 20 years.
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Naperville-Man-Killed-Trying-to-Save-Ducklings-122869114.html#ixzz1Pdq4OWMu