While checking up on the status of the northwestern Salamander egg masses
near school there was a splashing commotion in the little ditch area. I
dropped down below the brush level and snuck close. I saw a mallard pair and
though perhaps the splashing was mating. A female mallard was acting oddly.
As I approached, the mal who was by her side flew up and quacking loudly
flew to the next open water. He then started splashing and loudly quacking
and I thought maybe there was some kind of pollutant or something in the
water. I squatted down again and was able to more carefully examine the
female and her wing was at an odd angle, so I thought she had a broken wing.
She then tried to move away and it was obvious that she was entangled
somehow, and then the culprit became obvious. Fishing line. It was wrapped
around the wing and caught on something. Damn..... I had a D-net with me in
the car so I went back and got it then took off my shoes, the rolled up my
pants. As I approached the side of the creek I regretted it, the duck just
went into a frenzy of thrashing and I was afraid she would get hurt. Back to
the car again, I got an old poncho I keep in reserve. I threw the poncho
over the duck and as I hoped, she quieted right down. The male did not
however and he quacked and swauked enough for both of them. Of course, being
not prepared I got the duck in the poncho but the line was entangled and I
did not have a knife on me and it was thick enough I could not break it. I
rubbed the line against my keys and finally it broke. The duck was
completely limp and I thought she was dead, died of shock or something. I
carefully peeled off the wet ponch and she looked right at me, then bite a
nice nip on my arm. We had a bit of a wrestling match then, and she squirmed
and thrashed, and I was not in a good place, I was standing on a slippery
slope trying to not fall in the water (I had a class to teach in a few
minutes and no time to get home to change). As it was I got pretty damp as I
finally got a good hold on the duck (I wished several times I had three
hands today) and began to unwind the line from her wing. (reminder to self:
when rescuing ducks bring a pocket knife it makes it soooo much easier).
After doing the key routine to cut the line a couple more times at last the
line was off the duck. I shifted my hands to let her go and of course she
nipped my arm again so I unceremonious chucked her sort of at the water.
Then I lost my balance and fell onto the bank, which was a bit muddy but the
grass was more or less dry. I finally got myself composed enough to look
after the duck and she and her mate were scoot swimming upstream as fast as
her little feet would carry her.

Later on our walkabout I brought the students down to the ditch to collect
salamander eggs and a pair of mallard took off flying. I looked at the
bruise on my arm, but decided not to share this story today with the
students. So I share it with you instead.

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, writer, teacher
And reluctant rescuer of a duck

--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 266.0.0 - Release Date: 2/18/2005