Mother duck and ten ducklings returned to water after waddling into Cork garda station

The mother duck and her ten ducklings. Picture: Cork Wildlife Rescue/Facebook

A mother duck and her ten ducklings who waddled into a Cork garda station at the weekend have been safely returned to the water with the help of a wildlife charity and some kind gardaí. 

The mallards, who had been nesting in a nearby garden, appear to have gotten lost on their way back to the water in Bishopstown on Sunday afternoon. 

After noticing the bird at the rear of their station, three gardaí put up a makeshift barrier to keep them safe, and alerted volunteer group Wildlife Rescue Cork. 

When Julie Cronin of Wildlife Rescue Cork arrived 40 minutes later, she and one of the officers scooped up the ducks into a crate and brought them back to the charity's facilities in Whitechurch. 

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Ms Cronin said that often, female ducks will choose to nest in secluded areas a short distance from the water to avoid hooded crows, herons and other animals which may prey upon her and her ducklings.

Of course, when the ducklings hatch, they are unable to fly, meaning their mother must attempt to walk them back to the water. 

Garda Tommy Ryan from Bishopstown Garda Station, who assissted the stranded ducks. Picture: Wildlife Rescue Cork

"This is where they run into problems with traffic, fences and predators," Ms Cronin said. 

"The mother duck, if scared, will fly off and the ducklings will scatter so it's always wise to slowly coax them somewhere safe and ensure the mother stays with them."

Ms Cronin, who attended two other callouts after helping the Bishopstown ducklings, said Wildlife Rescue Cork always welcomes calls and messages from the public who might need advice about assisting stranded water birds. 

"If they are near water and we think it is safe to gently herd them to water we will advise people how to do that," she said.

As for the Bishopstown mother duck and her ten ducklings, Ms Cronin said the team safely released them back on to the water on Monday morning. 

We were very grateful that the gardaí showed such compassion to them and knew they needed some assistance," she added.