Brooklyn 'Duck Dock' Becomes Prime Real Estate For Birds In Need

RED HOOK, BROOKLYN — The idea to put small habitat structures in the water near Portside New York's space in the Atlantic Basin has, albeit not literally, been floating around the organization for years.

The nonprofit, which operates out of a historic oil tanker, began thinking about five years ago that "floating habitats," or small islands set up for animals to use, could be the answer to ducklings that they noticed were struggling to survive. The young ducks often died because they couldn't fly from the water to the large barges or docks for safety.

But it wasn't until an adult seagull with an injured wing showed up a few months ago that the idea, or at least a make-shift version, came to life, Portside Founder Carolina Salguero said.

The organization's historian Peter Rothenberg pulled together some salvaged plywood, packing foam and rope to make a small ramp for the seagull. But even when the seagull stopped showing up, some new tenants started to move in.

"It's a real estate story," Salguero said. "We all look out the porthole to see who’s on the dock, what’s happening, and all sorts of ducks show up. It's really a case of if you build it they will come."

The small ramp on the side of the dock has become a hot commodity for at least three types of ducks, so much so that the birds have taken to fighting over the territory.

Portside staff watched from inside their tanker as two female ducks with their broods, or litter of ducklings, fought over the dock space and as a male duck then got in on the drama, attacking the families of ducklings.

The fight, which Salguero now refers to as "Duck Wars," ended up with the mother ducks leaving behind their ducklings. The brood of 14 or so babies dwindled day by day until there was only one, who staff call "the orphan" left on the ramp.

(© Carolina Salguero 2019)

Salguero said that although the fighting is likely natural behavior for the species and not all about the docks, it's given Portside some ideas about how to expand their make-shift floating habitats.

"We decided to make a bunch of separate little floats — everybody gets their own little duck island," she said.

Her research about duck behavior also led her to put a small house meant for a cat next to the ramp, to help ducklings that she discovered often die from exposure.

The success of the ramp has also put aside, at least for now, the idea of creating more official floating habitats, which include a base, anchor and plant material.

Portside had been talking with local schools and other organizations over the years about researching and creating those habitats, but hadn't finalized the project yet.

Now, Salguero said, the nonprofit will likely bring in students to help make several structures like the wooden ramps that can float on the water and learn about the ducks. P.S. 676 and Summit Academy Charter School have both expressed interest in the project, which Portside has started calling the ramp "DuckNYC" after the city's DockNYC emblem for its docks.

"The idea is don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good," she said. "We can make little floats right away."

Portside also hopes to set up a "Duck Cam" that will livestream the ramp and floats online so the public can watch the birds set up camp. A new mother and brood of ducklings already joined the ramp this week.

For now, those interested in the duck dock tales can follow along on Portside's Facebook page, where the birds have already started acquiring fans.