After mother and her ducklings lose their way back to the pond

Residents of Flanders Road had quite the shock last Friday when a flock of ducks were spied waddling through their neighbourhood.

Colette Green, an IT consultant who lives at number 37 said she was startled to spot the mother and ten ducklings on her way back from buying a morning coffee.

The family of ducks, who kept walking in circles up and down Flanders Road, are believed to have been trying to find their way back to Ravenscourt Park, “They tried walking through Welstead Way car park” said Colette, “but we think they got scared away by a film crew working there”.

Following RSPCA advice Colette and two retired neighbours tried to trap the ducks in a box and carry them to the nearest pond in safety. Unfortunately, the mother did not react well to be being separated from her young and became too violent to approach.

The locals finally decided it was better to let the family re-group naturally and try to find their way back home instinctively, as trying to help was obviously causing them “more harm than help”.

An RSPCA official claimed it had been a “bumpy year for ducks” but that he wasn’t concerned enough to send someone out to collect them: “I’d put my money on them finding their way back”. They were last spotted wandering into a housing estate in Stamford Brook.

Annie Hardy

June 11, 2008