Update on the Ducks That Visited Our Campus for Years!


I know many of you have been following the ducks at Bayles for the last couple of years. We had a female mallard duck that came to our courtyard every spring to lay eggs and raise her babies. It saddens me to tell you that the mother did not show up for the last couple of years. After having her come and raise her babies here for five years in a row we are all a little sad. The male came in February, but the female did not. We will let you know if anything happens before summer. We all hope that one of the 40 something babies we have raised here over the years will return to lay eggs in our courtyard.

I decided to leave this page up for those of you that are just joining us. Please read below for a little history about the Mallard Ducks as researched and documented by my fifth grade classes in computer lab.


Mom is sitting on 14 little babies.



Pictures taken April 5, 2004




Pictures taken March 1, 2004


Below are pictures of prior years and a brief explanation of the excitement we have had.



Mom takes her babies for a walk around the courtyard.





We have two areas that we have built in our school by grants and the work of our student council. The 135 gallon aquarium sits in our entry as you come into our school. It was built inside our old trophy case. The aquatic life in the aquarium closely parallels the 4-6 science curriculum.



The second living classroom is the courtyard, which includes the Koi Pond, waterfall, vegetable garden, and flower garden. Many of the science objectives in all grade levels can be demonstrated in our courtyard. It was here that momma duck raised her young. If you didn't follow our story, I have included a shorten version below.


What Happened in the Spring of 2000

We came back from Spring Break in March to find two Mallard Ducks, one male and one female, swimming in our Koi Pond. It was so much fun to watch them frolic in the pond almost every morning. Little did we know, the best was yet to come.

The next week the male disappeared, and the female settled in on a nest of 12 eggs, which we learned is called a clutch. On May 2, 2000, the eggs hatched and mom led six little balls of brown and yellow fluff around their new home, our courtyard. Everyone, from the principal to the last student observed the ducks grow and watched as mom taught them how to dive, find insects, what to eat and not to eat. We used this as a wonderful teaching tool and the students did all sorts of research on the internet. Our information and research was posted on this website and detailed during the morning announcements. It was a learning experience for everyone.

When school ended the babies and mom were still living in our courtyard. It was the first week in July when a few of us were able to observe the last lesson mom would teach, that of learning to fly. As the day ended and the sun began to set, mom would fly a short distance and stop. She had flown away many times before and been gone for hours. This time her behavior was different. Suddenly, she took off up and out of the courtyard. This time all the babies, now adult ducks on their own, spread their wings and took flight with their mother to a new home and a new life.

Now we wait for this spring, in hopes that mom or one of the babies will return to what we consider their home.

I have included below two of my favorite pictures. The first one was taken in March, shortly after their birth, and the second just days before they left. I've also included a short movie which requires quicktime in order to view (a link and instructions are provided on the movie page if it doesn't load). Watch carefully in the film, as we specifically edited the movie so you could see mom teaching them how to dive.






We found a lot of additional information about Mallard Ducks at this web site.
WHEN YOU ARE READY TO MOVE ON, THE PICTURES BELOW ARE LINKS TO THE REST OF THE SITE! YOU CAN E-MAIL US AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE. WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!



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This web site was written and designed by Barbara Mairs. If you notice any problems, please let me know by email.