A mother duck and her ducklings seem to have made an appearance in the Saint Louis Highschool courtyard as of Saturday, May 15. 

Who doesn’t like ducks? Probably only people with Ornithophobia. The creatures are well regarded for their passive and friendly behavior and are one of the only creatures on the planet able to walk, swim, and fly. So what is the protocol when one ends up on school grounds? According to SLHS Principal Huff, “We are not sure exactly how long the mother duck has been in the courtyard. She’s able to fly in and out, so there is a good chance she has been visiting for awhile, and building the nest.” 

Huff continued to detail that while they are an amusing sight, the ducks will have to be moved as the resources necessary for survival of the ducklings are not present, and the ducklings will not be able to fly out on their own. The mother has multiple ducklings right now, and even more still in eggs. While the mother may have the ability to leave the courtyard, the ducklings are left stranded if she does and have no way to learn to fly in such an enclosed space. 

Mr. Anderson, the first one to witness the ducks in action, shared, “I was meeting with a coach on Saturday, I had thought maybe my eyesight had been bad, but I was proven wrong when the mother duck and the babies walked by my window.” 

According to Mrs. Shattuck, “We’ve put out water for the ducks, and they’re able to pick up food from the ground, so they seem to be doing fine for now.”

Mr. Huff shared, “We attempted to contact Dalis to the Rescue, but they were out of town, so we decided to put some water out and let them be.” Mrs. Shattuck continued, “The mother tries to leave but she can’t, because her babies can’t leave.” It seems the mother is in quite the predicament, not being able to leave. though some food is available in the courtyard, and water is provided by the school.

Mr. Huff closed “Right now we are trying to determine the best way to relocate them so we can ensure the safety of all the animals.” Hopefully the mother and her ducklings will be able to find a home outside of school grounds, but for now it seems the ducks have found themselves temporary asylum in the courtyard of SLHS.