For over thirty years, members of the Green Bay Duck Hunters Association have operated a duck rescue program. It began in the late ‘70’s by two founding members, Ted Thyrion and Milt Geyer, to whom this program is dedicated to, who volunteered numerous hours and miles to “rescue” the ducklings.

 

Currently working as a "field extension" of the Green Bay – Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary and under their direction, members monitor nesting ducks in high risk locations such as parking lots, construction sites, business and residential areas. The following is an explanation of the program and what you can do to help.

 

Duck rescues occur as hens and ducklings find themselves trapped in swimming pools, back yards, in traffic and down in storm sewers. GBDHA members are on call with the sanctuary (391-3671) and the Brown County emergency dispatch center (448-3201)

to respond to such incidents. More than a thousand ducks have been "rescued" by this program and the numbers grow every year.

 

In the case of a hen found nesting in a high risk location, a member will contact the property owner and evaluate the location. They will then monitor the progress of the then and may install a small fence to contain the brood for safety.

 

During this time, observation at a distance is encouraged but do not interfere with the natural progress. Nesting hens will take care of their own food and water needs. They can be seen leaving the nest during early morning or evening hours to feed, water and exercise. By placing any water or food near the nest, predators are attracted which can be harmful to the brood. Some of the predators include crows, cats, raccoons, opossums and squirrels.  The closer to the hatch date, the more protective the hen will be. In the extreme case of a disturbed hen or abandoned nest, eggs will be collected and incubated at the sanctuary. In most cases the hen will nest again and raise a second brood but not always in the same place. Yearly, a returning hen may nest in the same place or nearby. She may have

already been banded and you may see the "jewelry" on her left leg.

 

In the case of a brood trapped or in traffic, keeping them together is important.  This can be accomplished' by simply "herding" them from a distance away from trouble or into a confined area. In the events ducklings drop into a storm sewer or are otherwise trapped, the hen will stay nearby, trying to coax the others into coming along. By staying up on the curb, she can be safe until all are reunited.

 

In partnership with the Wisconsin DNR and the US Fish & Wildlife Bird Banding Program, the hen is banded and the hatch data forwarded for study. The hen and ducklings are then transported to a wildlife area or marsh for release into the wild.  Locations vary so as to disperse the groups to avoid too in one area.

 

You may wonder why we’ve taken on this mission. We are firmly committed to conserving the resource and practice that stewardship not only in voice, but in action to protect our resources for all. You can observe our other projects and view waterfowl and wildlife at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary and at Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve on CTH J in Suamico.

 

Check out the link to duck rescue at www.duckrescue.com