Posts tagged ‘mallard ducks’
Today’s News from the Duck Beat
This isn’t about the alumni center ducks, but it’s so sweet I had to share. It’s a news story about a banker in Spokane who helped rescue a family of ducklings—the ducklings’ parents had built the nest on a building ledge in center city, which as you can imagine posed some challenges to the ducklings.
Seems like stories like this float around the Internet every year. But this one looks to be new, and be sure to watch the video—it’s only a minute long, and it will make you smile.
Tina Hay, editor
Another Duck Tale
Momma Duck waits—and squawks—while the Physical Plant staff rescue her 11 ducklings on the east end of campus. Click to see bigger version.
It’s that time of year.
From Deborah Blythe in Penn State’s Office of Physical Plant comes this story and photo from an incident on campus the other day, out near the “home management houses” along College Avenue:
Momma Duck and her 11 ducklings were walking along and came to a storm drain in front of Benedict House. Momma Duck walked across the grate and all 11 of her babies fell into the storm drain. Momma yelled for help and called and flapped. Some of our OPP employees came to the rescue immediately. The drain was pulled up and a brave employee crawled down into the drain and, along with lots of helpful employees, rescued the ducklings and returned them to their mommy duck.
My question is, What was the mother duck thinking, leading her kids across a storm-drain grate? But I’m glad the story had a happy ending.
Tina Hay, editor
More Photos of Ducklings
I’ll try not to subject you to duckling photos all summer long. But the little guys are pretty cute right now. Those of us on the magazine staff are lucky to have offices in the part of the alumni center that once was the president’s house, so the pond is right below our windows. I have my window cracked open right now and can hear the ducks squabbling out there as we speak.
Anyway, here are three more photos I took yesterday at the pond. Click on any of them to see them bigger in a new window.
By the way, just a reminder: If you want to get our blog delivered to you as an e-mail each morning, rather than having to come find it on the Web, you can subscribe by clicking on the “subscribe” link in the upper-right part of the page.
Tina Hay, editor
Ducks? Oh Yes, We Have Ducks.
One of three sets of ducklings on the pond outside the Hintz Family Alumni Center. Click to see it bigger.
Last week we noticed that one of the resident ducks on the Alumni Center pond had had babies—we counted at least 11 ducklings. Then yesterday I noticed that we have not one, but three families of ducklings on the pond. Between those guys and about a half-dozen apparently unattached male ducks, it’s getting a little crowded out there.
Today on my way back to the building after lunch, I saw a lot of people taking pictures of the ducks—I counted at least six different people with cameras. I asked if it was part of some sort of class, but no, it was just a lot of people who were attracted by the ducklings. And who can blame them? The ducklings are very cute.
As it happens, I had my camera with me, too. Hence the photo you see here.
By the way, if you happen to visit the alumni gardens to check out the ducks—and the turtles, and the beautiful landscaping—we’d all really appreciate it if you wouldn’t feed the ducks or the ducklings. It’s a bad idea for a lot of reasons, I’m told. And the new baby ducks especially need a lot better nutrition than the bread and crackers most people tend to offer.
But with that caveat in mind, come see our ducks!
Tina Hay, editor
Just Ducky
So it turns out that we here at The Penn Stater aren’t the only ones who enjoy the ducks that hang out around the pond outside the Hintz Family Alumni Center. The bloggers at Onward State like “our” ducks, too.
Lori Shontz, senior editor
Uh, I Think This May be Too Many Ducks
Some years back, a pair of mallard ducks took up residence at the pond just outside the alumni center—right below the magazine offices, which are in what used to be called University House. The ducks spent the summer raising a family of ducklings and gave us plenty of reasons to eat our lunch outside on the bridge over the pond. I wrote a column about this for the magazine a few years ago.
The next year, the mallard pair came back and brought some of their friends, and the year after that they brought even more of their friends.
Well, it must be spring, because the gang is back. The other morning I counted 14 (!) ducks on the lawn next to the alumni center. The photo here shows just a small subset of them. They tend to hold a noisy group meeting on the lawn each morning and then disperse for the day—some to the upper pond, some to the lower, some to who knows where.
I really don’t see how this small space is going to support seven duck-couples and their offspring. It could get a little squabbly—and messy—as the summer goes on. But I assume that ducks have their ways of working these sorts of territories out, and maybe all 14 won’t stay for the summer.
I’m also mindful of the fact that a red-tailed hawk lives in the neighborhood, so I worry a little for the ducks. I would think that Mister Hawk could easily eat a duckling a day if he wanted to.
We’ll let you know how the situation unfolds. If you’re on campus this summer, be sure to stop by—the alumni center, and the gardens around it, are gorgeous. And I can almost guarantee you’ll see ducks.
Tina Hay, editor
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