Guilford Police Rescue 9 Wood Ducks

By Rachel Ettlinger, Patch Editor

Wood Ducks, often referred to in the South as “Summer Ducks,” decided to make an appearance in Guilford this past weekend.

Police Sgt. Timothy Bernier and a team of other police officers rounded up a group of baby Wood Ducks on Saturday, right in front of the Guilford Police Department.

“I was out there trying to collect them with a plethora of other people,” Bernier said.

The mother of the ducks had been fatally struck by a car before police were able to apprehend her, Bernier said.

All of the nine ducklings were scattered in the wooded and swamped area directly across from the Police Department, located east of Church Street, thankfully off of the main road and away from traffic.

“That’s why the baby ducks were all scattered,” Bernier said. “I’m sure they were looking for their mother.”

Once the wood ducklings were taken back to the police station, Bernier said police dispatch contacted “A Place Called Hope,” which is a raptor rescue, rehabilitation and education center located in Killingworth, Connecticut.

Co-Founder, Christina Cummings-Secki, picked up the ducklings at the station.

“Yesterday my wife picked up nine wood ducks from the Guilford Police Department, to whom we give thanks for wrangling these chicks,” Spirit Hawk Photography wrote in a Facebook post. “They are in the best of care and we are finding them to be a bit of a ‘handful’ as they move quickly and climb the sides of their enclosure.”

Wood Ducks are often referred to in the South as “Summer Ducks” because they like to remain in warm weather, according to the Wood Duck Society. Wood Ducks are most commonly seen near large bodies of water in warmer climates.

In areas where it becomes cool in the fall and winter months, such as the Northeast, Wood Ducks will migrate to the south for warmer weather, the Wood Duck Society wrote. They migrate right back to where they started from once the weather becomes warmer in the spring and summer months.

“Amazing little creatures,” Spirit Hawk Photography wrote.