Swarland couple adopt duckling after its mother dies

May 11 2009 by Brian Daniel, The Journal

AN ugly duckling who lost its mother and was close to death has found a new happy family.

The young white duck was found by residents of Percy Wood Caravan Park at Swarland 18 days ago, unable to climb up an embankment around a pond and close to death.

They took it to Madeline and Paul Kelly, who have lived on the site for 11 months of the year for the past five years.

Paul, 53, who is retired through ill health, had seen the yellow coloured duckling hatch by the side of the pond while making his way to the doctor’s one day.

And Madeline, 64, also retired, had watched as the infant was rejected by the mother of the clutch it was in, a mallard whose young were black.

The couple believe the ugly duckling’s egg was originally in a nest right beside the one in which it hatched.

They think its mother may have been taken by a fox and that the duckling’s egg may have rolled into the wrong nest during the attack.

The couple have cared for the duckling since its arrival, fearing it would be vulnerable to foxes and crows if left to fend for itself.