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Vanessa, Mother Duck, Takes Her Babies To School

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cubby

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/duck-leads-ducklings-annual-waddle-schools-halls-143335240.html

A mother duck has grown attached to a Michigan elementary school's courtyard, returning each year to lay her eggs and then walk the hallways with her ducklings — with the help of students and staff — to safely get to a nearby pond.

The duck named Vanessa has appeared at Village Elementary School in Hartland for the past 13 years, and her latest waddle through the school took place last week, the Livingston Daily Press & Argus of Howell reports (http://bit.ly/1Oa7lnF ).

The duck flies into the closed-off courtyard, where children in the surrounding classrooms can take a peek out the window to watch, and she crawls under a specific shrub, digs out her nest and lays her eggs. It's there that she waits for them to hatch.

After the ducklings appear, now-retired teacher Ruth Darrah and others tape black construction paper along the walls, creating a clear path for the ducks to get to a nearby pond outside the school. Teachers and staff make sure students are out of Vanessa's path so they don't frighten her.

"It's so unusual, but everyone gets so invested in this duck because how cool is it that she comes back each and every year," said Elizabeth Krause, a mother who has witnessed the duck's appearance almost every year.

This year's hallway waddle took place on Thursday. The duck waited by the courtyard door for it to be unlocked and waddled with her ducklings through the school within minutes.

"She has it down by now, after 13 years," Darrah said.
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Awwwwwwww!<3
 
This is adorable! I had no idea wild ducks lived so long (although Google now tells me 20 years). Here's to hoping Vanessa has many more happy waffles down the hall. <3

Years ago I had a dove who built a nest on my front porch light fixture. It seemed so precarious, and it was very cramped; the baby doves were kind of overflowing the nest and out on the fixture itself in no time. But overall it worked fine, I guess. And sure enough, the dove was back again the next year and built her nest in the same place. I wonder if she's still nesting there. :)
 
everjaded said:
This is adorable! I had no idea wild ducks lived so long (although Google now tells me 20 years). Here's to hoping Vanessa has many more happy waffles down the hall. <3

Years ago I had a dove who built a nest on my front porch light fixture. It seemed so precarious, and it was very cramped; the baby doves were kind of overflowing the nest and out on the fixture itself in no time. But overall it worked fine, I guess. And sure enough, the dove was back again the next year and built her nest in the same place. I wonder if she's still nesting there. :)
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At my moms house there was a bird that made a nest on our front porch. If you walked on the front porch, she would come out and "yell" at you (basically squawking a whole bunch) and she would dive bomb you. We eventually went in and out through the garage instead to avoid her lol.
 
I have a duck who lays an egg every night, and if I don't pick it up first thing in the morning, she goes back and eats it for lunch.
 
everjaded said:
This is adorable! I had no idea wild ducks lived so long (although Google now tells me 20 years). Here's to hoping Vanessa has many more happy waffles down the hall. <3

Years ago I had a dove who built a nest on my front porch light fixture. It seemed so precarious, and it was very cramped; the baby doves were kind of overflowing the nest and out on the fixture itself in no time. But overall it worked fine, I guess. And sure enough, the dove was back again the next year and built her nest in the same place. I wonder if she's still nesting there. :)
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Doves are incubating eggs on a nest they build on top of an Eazy-up that was folded up and in its case, standing upright on our back deck. Good thing we won't need it till later this summer. And house finches are incubating eggs in a nest they built on top of the spider plant we have hanging on the front deck.

My cats are going crazy watching all of the bird action.
 
LarzlovesJahi said:
Doves are incubating eggs on a nest they build on top of an Eazy-up that was folded up and in its case, standing upright on our back deck. Good thing we won't need it till later this summer. And house finches are incubating eggs in a nest they built on top of the spider plant we have hanging on the front deck.

My cats are going crazy watching all of the bird action.
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I had this homeless cat in the neighborhood that used to just sit patiently on my front poor willing the doves to fall. I started taking my dog out more, and opening my front door and letting her keep watch out the screen door, to scare him away and try to give them a fighting chance.
 
I bookmarked that story so I could reread it whenever I need something to give me the warm fuzzies and put a smile on my face. <3 I'm concerned about the Mallard who is nesting in a planter between two greenhouses at work, though. All bodies of water would require her to lead her ducklings (still eggs!) across roadways, and the students drive like Helen Keller taught their driver's ed class! Hopefully she is still sitting on them until at least graduation on May 14!
 
everjaded said:
I had this homeless cat in the neighborhood that used to just sit patiently on my front poor willing the doves to fall. I started taking my dog out more, and opening my front door and letting her keep watch out the screen door, to scare him away and try to give them a fighting chance.
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Is that the one that was hanging out on your front porch (the cat)? Maybe it's hungry?
 
I was nervous when I saw that there were comments in here. I thought that something happened to Vanessa.
 


A video of all the kids watching while Ms. Vanessa walks her babies to the pond! Adorable!
 
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