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HOME » Our Smartphone Movie Adventure When We Saved a Duckling in the Garden

Our Smartphone Movie Adventure When We Saved a Duckling in the Garden

30/01/2017 by Marjorie Dawson 31 Comments

You Will Love Our Crazy Duckling Rescue Adventure Story!

 

Dad was working in his home office and he looked out of the window……. Next door’s cat was peering down from the wall into the stream behind the garden. Uh-oh he thought, one of the Dash Kitten Crew has fallen over the edge!  

He and Mum rushed outside, prepared to mount a dramatic cat rescue but, instead, they found a lone duckling! Knowing that you do not touch wildlife without checking to see if their family is nearby, they assessed the situation.

  1. After carefully checking, they could not see, or hear, family along our length of the stream.
  2. No sound or sight of ducks nearby.
  3. The little duckling was battling a fast stream.

A decision was made. Left to its own devices the tiny duckling would be swept quickly onwards to a weir, then to the Hutt River with no chance of landfall. A rescue was needed!

First Catch Your Duckling 

The duckling was not easy to catch. For something so small, it was noisy, wriggly, and did its best to keep paddling like crazy. Dad caught it – and again, Mum and Dad listened carefully for the sound of ducks nearby – in the hope the family might locate the stray through its loud peeps…….. Nothing. 

It was Sunday, so the chances of getting emergency advice from the SPCA was slim. So, Mum and Dad looked online and found the Duckman.  The site is comprehensive and helpful. It gave us help to take positive action for our orphan friend and mount a bird rescue. 

Duckling Rescue Adventure Cute Duckling sat in rescue crate
On our way to the Rescue. Note green binding so ducky can’t fly out the side gap.

Duckman aka Craig Shepherd, has a website full of important, life saving, information for ducks and seabirds. Mr Shepherd has worked in bird care, rehabilitation and rescue for over ten years and he was one of the bird rescuers thst made a huge difference to birdlife during the infamous Rena Oil Spill.

” I specialise in the rehabilitation of waterfowl but also take seabirds and some other breeds of birds as required.

The birds mostly come from the SPCA and vet clinics but I also get a few from the Wellington Zoo and Massey University for rehabilitation. The majority that come in are orphaned ducklings and I deal with 300 – 400 birds per year.”

With the duckling in a box, Mum and Dad checked on what to do next on the ‘Caring for Ducks’ page. Done right, the chances of a successful result were 98%. The duckling was moved to a carrier, and Dusty volunteered his microwaveable heat pad to provide extra warmth.

By the time this had been arranged, there had been a response from the Duckman rescue on Facebook. Mum and Dad were asked if they could bring the duckling to the rescue.  They had planned to head out to see ‘Hidden Figures‘ at the cinema that evening (Mum has the book and found it a terrific read), but a hasty reschedule was arranged, then they set off for the rescue.

Duckling Rescue Adventure – Making Our Duckling Movie

After a winding, twisting, drive through a part of the Wellington area they had never seen before, Mum and Dad safely dropped off our little buddy and took a while to tour the rescue facility. Mum hastily grabbed her iPhone and shot some footage of the residents then made it into a movie for our post. NOTE For aspiring movie people – this was done on an iPhone, edited in iMovie, and it’s really cool!

Enjoy!

P.S. We had a further message that our rescue duckling was eating and cuddling after we left too, so thank you Duckman for your skilled advice and care.

Silver Kitten
Duckling Rescue Adventure Reporter

Dash Kitten Silver Kitten the Business Cat

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Cat Blog Tagged With: animal rescue, baby bird rescue, best pet movies, bird rescue center, duckling dramatic rescue, saving a bird, wild bird rescue

Meet Marjorie, Writer and Photographer

Portrait by a window with teddy bears Taken with a smartphone.Marjorie is a cat lover, photographer and smartphone moviemaker who loves sharing her knowledge with learners.

Marjorie is a Cat Writers’ Association Professional member, CWA Muse® Medallion and Certificate Winner, and winner of the CWA Kuykendall Image Award for her photography.

 

Comments

  1. Valentine says

    31/03/2017 at 7:23 am

    Silver, such a cute video! I love stories like this! I would also love to have duckies of my own someday. My human used to raise white ones when she was younger & rescued a Mallard once, too. Congrats on video being chosen as Blogpaws Nose-to-Nose Award Finalist! Mew Mew!

    Reply
  2. Cathy Armato says

    17/03/2017 at 2:41 am

    What an adorable little duckling & a great rescue! I love how you all came together to save this tiny duck. Congratulations on being a Nose to Nose Finalist!! Much deserved!
    Love & biscuits,
    Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them

    Reply
  3. Hairballs and Hissyfits says

    04/02/2017 at 3:59 am

    What a wonderful uplifting story!! THanks for the great video!

    Reply
  4. Kim says

    03/02/2017 at 1:45 pm

    Great job guys.
    And a great video

    Reply
  5. Sadie says

    03/02/2017 at 5:58 am

    I’m so glad the kitten crew alerted you to this duck in distress! My dad had ducks when we lived on a farm. We would watch my dad go about chores with his row of ducks following (waddling) behind him. I have a soft spot for ducks.

    Reply
  6. Basil says

    03/02/2017 at 5:12 am

    Hiya Dash Kitten Crew, oh we loved your Lucky Ducky report and video, it was so pawesome, thanks so much fur saving him and taking him to a sanctuary, mew guys are just amazing!!!

    Bestest purrs

    Basil & Co xox

    Reply
  7. Sonja says

    03/02/2017 at 3:16 am

    Lucky duck!! Most fall victim to cats and such. Glad it’s ok.

    Reply
  8. Tenacious Little Terrier says

    02/02/2017 at 8:48 pm

    Congrats on the successful rescue! Are they going to release the duckling once it is bigger?

    Reply
    • Dash Kitten says

      02/02/2017 at 9:36 pm

      It will indeed!!

      Reply
  9. Karen says

    02/02/2017 at 4:45 pm

    Very cool! So Ducky lived happily ever after?

    Reply
  10. meowmeowmans says

    02/02/2017 at 4:36 pm

    What a great post! Thank you for saving that duckling, and we are so glad it is doing so well with Duckman. Hooray!

    Reply
  11. Beth says

    02/02/2017 at 4:18 pm

    It is wonderful that you were able to rescue the duckling and find a good rescue/rehab.

    Reply
  12. Sweet Purrfections says

    02/02/2017 at 3:46 pm

    This was great! How wonderful you took the time to research and rescue the duckling.

    Reply
  13. Rebecca at MattieDog says

    02/02/2017 at 3:33 pm

    Oh my gosh, the video was wonderful! Thank you so very much for all you do! Will share!

    Reply
  14. Tonya Wilhelm says

    02/02/2017 at 1:57 pm

    That’s really cool. Congrats and thanks for your hard work. Loved the duckie video.

    Reply
  15. Deziz World says

    02/02/2017 at 1:12 pm

    Dat was really pawsum. Altho’ we had to go to Vimeo to watch da video. Fur some reason it wouldn’t play here. No purroblem we just wanted to let you know. Big hugs

    Luv ya’

    Dezi and Raena

    Reply
  16. Ruth Epstein says

    02/02/2017 at 11:40 am

    Love this story and so happy the duck was rescued and is safe 🙂 thank you

    Reply
  17. Hindy Pearson says

    02/02/2017 at 10:50 am

    Love this!! You must be so proud of everything your family did to save this little life, and thanks for the great Duckman resource. A few of us were caught out some time ago when we rescued a baby bird, then were scrambling to find out how to help.

    Reply
  18. Amy Shojai, CABC says

    02/02/2017 at 9:56 am

    What a great story! So glad the little guy had access to YOU and the Duckman.

    Reply
  19. Deb Barnes says

    31/01/2017 at 12:36 pm

    We were not expecting such an incredible story when we popped by your blog! Thank you for saving this precious baby! Purrs from Deb and the Zee/Zoey gang

    Reply
  20. The Island Cats says

    31/01/2017 at 11:31 am

    That was one lucky duckling! Thank you for rescuing him. We’ve had ducks in our yard…even have had them lay eggs, but we’ve never had any ducklings.

    Reply
  21. The Swiss Cats says

    31/01/2017 at 8:37 am

    What a pawsome rescue ! We loved the video, that duckling is lucky to have met your humans ! Purrs

    Reply
  22. Erin the Cat Princess says

    31/01/2017 at 7:38 am

    A wonderful thing to save one so small… well done dad for those eagle eyes,without them ducky would have been lost! A great video too, the Fairy Tern caught our eye amid all the wonderful rescued babies.

    Reply
  23. Summer says

    31/01/2017 at 6:48 am

    How exciting and what an awesome rescue! And I loved watching the video!

    Reply
  24. mommakatandherbearcat says

    31/01/2017 at 6:30 am

    What a precious baby! I can’t imagine many people would’ve done the same, but I admire you all the more!

    Reply
  25. da tabbies o trout towne says

    31/01/2017 at 4:10 am

    silver….well, even we hafta add mit thiz iz awesum…..but due knot let on…we haza ‘rep” ya noe….high pawz two yur mum, dad & de folkz at de re hab…and de naybor kitteh 🙂 for helpin thiz burd on his lifez journee !! ~~~~~~~~ st francis’ blessings two all …insert hearts XXX

    Reply
  26. Brian Frum says

    31/01/2017 at 4:06 am

    That was a most wonderful save dear friends!

    Reply
  27. The Menagerie Mom says

    31/01/2017 at 1:44 am

    Oh, what a kind and caring and wonderful deed you did!

    Reply
  28. Anne says

    31/01/2017 at 12:26 am

    It’s such a wonderful feeling to rescue an animal in need. I’ve rescued two baby birds in the past (sparrows) but sadly neither survived 🙁 It was quite upsetting but they definitely wouldn’t have survived if we left them alone so at least we tried.

    Reply

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