The ducklings were moving so quickly to keep up with mum, they were hard to count, but we think there were about 12! I'd never seen so many ducklings move together like that before! And yet, here they were - maybe only a day old - heading in a beeline for the dog park, where we had just seen dogs running unrestrained outside the enclosure. Flanked by the peak hour traffic, whizzing by only metres away, it looked like an accident waiting to happen...
We decided to intervene and divert them down the quieter street which would take them towards the creek. They didn't seem to mind, and we herded/followed them excitedly. Along the way another dog approached, sniffing them out and attempting a closer inspection, but Nnif swiftly cut it off while I kept them moving.
At the next bend, on a busier strip, I walked along the curb with my bike between them and the oblivious traffic. Nearing the safety of the final block an iPodded jogger almost ran straight into them, just stopping before planting her foot right on top of them! She popped out her earphones, with a look that said, "What the ?"
At this point a few of the ducklings got confused and started lagging, one almost jumping out onto the road. Nnif & I stepped in and almost touched it, gently guiding it back towards the safety of it's mum, it's startled chirps beckoning her. And then we were off again, fluff-balls with furiously fast little legs travelling along the pavement like a huge morphing caterpillar...
We reached the park and off they went, travelling up along the creek bed under the cover of night. Wow - what an adventure! We returned home feeling a blissful awe at being able to enjoy the experience...
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