Campus community makes way for ducklings
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Several more residents at the University of Maine at Presque Isle have left the nest, following the June 1 birth of nine ducklings in a flowerbed outside the university’s Center for Innovative Learning (CIL).
Known as the “Home of the Owls,” the campus recently played host to a mother duck — nicknamed Nesting Nessie — and her nest full of eggs.
Of all the places the mallard hen could have selected for her nesting spot, she chose the library’s flowerbox. UMPI library staffer Michelle Greene discovered the duck and her nest on May 1, when faculty, staff and students were celebrating UMPI Day by cleaning up around campus.
“A few days before the campus cleanup, a couple staff members and I noticed the duck in the flowerbed, but did not realize why until I discovered her nest on UMPI Day,” said Greene. “When I was cleaning out the area, I found three eggs in her nest and thought for sure she would abandon it, but she came back.”
Officials decided the best course of action would be to leave the duck and her nest undisturbed so she could hatch her eggs. Vanessa Pearson, director of student success, oversees the CIL and put out several signs around the duck so people would know the mallard was there and to keep their distance.
“We saw a lot of traffic at the CIL as people came inside and watched the duck through the big front windows, which are tinted and make it easy for people to watch her, though she couldn’t see them,” Pearson said. “Passersby definitely showed interest in our new feathery resident, looking for her as they walked by and talking photos from a distance. They were respectful of her space and the duck seemed to be unruffled and undisturbed.”
Dr. Jason Johnston, assistant professor of wildlife ecology and an ornithologist, estimated the eggs would hatch in late May. To prepare campus for this, officials put several measures in place including the signage. Since the duck was nesting during graduation, faculty and staff — who would normally cheer on graduates as they marched past the CIL on their procession from the Campus Center to Wieden Hall — moved their “loud and proud crowd” to the walkway and away from the building.
Up until the eggs hatched, a “Duck Cam” allowed the mallard hen to nest, undisturbed, while giving the campus and community the opportunity to check in on what was happening with her and her nest.
Officials at the university developed a plan for when the eggs hatched. Johnston said there’d be telltale signs when hatching was close: the mother duck, who typically spends as much as 23 hours a day on her nest, sits on the nest less, and the baby ducks would start “pipping” or using their little beaks to break the shell. Pearson and Johnston were at the ready, should the ducks hatch during the daytime — as they ultimately did — leading Operation Make Way for Duckling. Just like the characters in Robert McCloskey’s Caldecott Medal-winning children’s book from 1941, Pearson and Johnston provided an escort for the mother duck and her babies, traveling down the walkways, through campus, and across the road until they were safely on their way to nearby water.
Johnston said it’s fairly typical for the birds to be on their way to the nearest body of water within hours of hatching. He also reassured that the flowerbox’s height of 5 feet may seem like a daunting height for baby ducks, but their little frames will easily accommodate their jump in order to get to ground level.
“We are delighted to host another type of bird on campus, at least for a short while,” said UMPI President Linda Schott. “We asked everyone to give her a wide berth, especially during graduation. She picked us, so we want to be impeccable hosts to her and her ducklings.”
The nine ducklings moved to the marsh area of campus around 10 a.m., not long after being born on June 1.
Rich Hoppe, a wildlife biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said it’s not uncommon for mallards to nest so close to human activity.
“A mallard’s incubation period is a matter of days, with them laying typically an egg a day. A clutch size averages eight to nine eggs. They lay on them for about a 28-day incubation period. Once hatched, the ducklings go to the water within a day or two of birth,” said Hoppe. “They traveled to a stream over the hill from the library.”
Hoppe said he receives calls each year from residents who’ve discovered duck nests on their property.
“It’s not uncommon. Every year I get a report of a duck under a shrub — usually it’s spotted when someone’s mowing. I tell them if they can wait a bit, to give the bird space. I suggest putting up a snow fence to enable the hen to come in and out during the incubation period,” he said.
The wildlife biologist noted that it’s not uncommon for ducks to return to their birth place.
“This duck might come back or her offspring may return to where they were born. UMPI’s Owl may have to move over — another bird may call UMPI home now,” said Hoppe. “This is wildlife, up close and personal.”
A post on the university’s Facebook page summed up the experience: “While we typically sign off with ‘Go, Owls,” in this case it seems pretty appropriate to say ‘Go, Ducklings!’”
