Duck hunt

By Marvin DeWolfe
Staff Writer

There’s a new family of ducks in town. After months of searching, replacements for Buddy Boy and his friends have been found. The flock has come in, so waddle on over to North Lake College’s lake and take a gander.

You may remember that a while back, the college had to rid itself of its resident ducks for a construction project. After the project was completed, the hunt was on for some fresh meat. Gary Wiltrout and Linda Hall of Plano had an offer that just fit the bill.

In February, the couple noticed something floating in their swimming pool. They went outside to find two ducks making themselves at home in their backyard.

"Mr. and Mrs. Mallard just showed up," said Hall. After a couple of months they became used to the idea that the two were going to be permanent residents. Then in June, they noticed some new arrivals. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard had become the proud parents of 10 ducklings.

A few more weeks went by and the novelty was wearing thin. The new family was outstaying its welcome. "They were messy," explained Hall. "It was like a literal poop deck out there." That’s when they heard about a story in The Dallas Morning News about the former residents of North Lake College’s lake, a paddling of ducks including the infamous Buddy Boy.

Buddy Boy was an overgrown domestic duck who didn’t want to leave because he was addicted to the nachos students fed him, said John Watson, facilities director at North Lake College.

The ducks initially had to leave because the college was going to improve its irrigation system, he explained. The lake was going to be dredged to create more volume. Water from a nearby creek was going to be fed into the lake. It was going to be contained by a retaining wall and adorned by two new fountains. In order to do this, the resident ducks had to be shooed away because domestics tend to stay put.

"Domestic ducks don’t have powerful enough wings to fly," said biology lab coordinator and Environmental Club sponsor Monica Atwell. They don’t migrate.

Buddy Boy however, would not be shooed. He had to be corralled and taken to Kathy Rogers' Wildlife Center in Huchins. When the lake was completed, he was too comfortable to leave his new home. The word went out. The Dallas Morning News ran the story about Buddy Boy and the college’s desire for a second serving of duck.

The duck calls flew in. "I got several calls," said Atwell. "Offers came in from as far away as Grand Saline," she said. But they didn’t have to go that far. The decision was made to take five ducks offered by an Arlington man. He had just rescued a team of ducks from starvation.

"He and his wife decided [the lake] was too big for their ducks," explained Atwell. Having turned away all other offers, the outlook was bleak.

Meanwhile, the Mallard family was dwindling. A couple of them died, including the runt, and one mysteriously disappeared. Linda Hall suspects the cat, but the case was dismissed for lack of evidence. Having heard that North Lake College had gone duck hunting, they made arrangements with John Watson to transfer the whole family – or what was left of it – to the college’s new facilities.

"It was like the Keystone Kops trying to get them caught," Hall described. Although one flew the coop at the last minute, they finally bribed the rest into a cage. They’re quite fond of pistachios," she said. After setting them free at their new home, Hall could almost read their minds. "I just know they were thinking, ‘My gosh! Look at this great big swimming pool,’ " she mused. But, she said, they hopped right in and started swimming around.

Although North Lake College’s lake may be a more suitable environment than a backyard swimming pool, it is not without its perils. Watson warns that turtles can and will eat ducklings.
"But, we’re not a duck sanctuary," he added. "We are not collecting ducks. We’ll just let nature take its course." Though these ducks are not domestic, they may show domestic behavior, or they may fly away, he explained.

Atwell says they’re leaving it to Mother Nature. "As always, she sends some migrating ducks our way every fall," she added.
Hall is happy to have been able to help them out. "I hope that have a good home," she said.

"We sent our ducks to college, so we’re happy."

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