DAYTONA BEACH — If all goes well, in a few days there will be 10 fuzzy baby ducks at the Riverfront Esplanade waddling as quickly as their little legs will take them behind their mother.
For the past three or four weeks, the white-and-brown-feathered mama duck has been on top of or right next to her 10 eggs in the linear park along the Halifax River.
She laid the eggs in some mulch on the edge of a stone-covered walking path at the esplanade. So to protect her and her unborn chicks, esplanade staff placed three orange construction cones in front of her to give her a safety barricade and alert people to walk around her nest.
Riverfront Esplanade Manager Joe Yarbrough isn’t surprised the black-billed duck chose the mile-long wonderland of trees, flowers, bushes and ponds to bring her chicks into the world.
“It’s not uncommon,” Yarbrough said Tuesday. “We’ve had quite a few hatchlings over the years. They show up in the spring and hang out in the ponds.”
Daytona Beach esplanade a natural sanctuary
The fresh water and natural vegetation in the Beach Street esplanade attract the ducks, and they sometimes get a little snack from people who cross paths with them. Yarbrough has seen ducks on both the north and south ends of the esplanade, which runs from Main Street to Orange Avenue.
The park becomes home to the wee ducks for a few months, and then by the end of the summer they disappear, he said.
The duck who’s sticking close to her eggs chose a spot on the southern end of the esplanade near a lazy river water feature. The landscapers, maintenance workers and security guards have been keeping a close eye on her.
“We were pretty worried about her,” landscaper Christie Rancourt said. “I wish she would have chosen a different spot because of all the crows.”
About a month ago, Rancourt said, some security guards saw crows destroy eggs in another nest at the esplanade. To protect this new nest, she said she put the cones in front of it.
A co-worker has been bringing the duck fresh water in a cup and tossing her bread, both of which are quickly devoured.
You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Mother duck decides to lay 10 eggs at edge of walking path in Daytona Riverfront Esplanade
Reporting by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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