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Duck Makes Nest at Pa. Construction Site

Posted on: Thursday, 4 May 2006, 18:00 CDT

EDWARDSVILLE, Pa. - A mallard picked just about the worst possible place to lay her eggs: a construction site. The duck made a nest of leaves and debris alongside a former department store near Wilkes-Barre that crews are tearing down to make room for a new Lowe's home improvement center.

Christine Ellis, a hair stylist who works next door, called the state Game Commission after her daughter noticed the eggs two weeks ago. Then she told the demolition crew to leave the duck and her eggs alone.

"They're like, 'Whaddaya mean?'" Ellis said. "They weren't happy with me. I don't care. I'm an animal lover."

The nest is protected under federal and state law and cannot be moved until the eggs hatch. Since the incubation period is about 28 days, the ducklings should arrive sometime within the next two weeks.

No one knows why the duck chose that particular spot for her nest, although there is a creek running behind the property.

"It is a little strange," said Tim Conway, a Game Commission spokesman. "I don't know what goes through their minds."

Construction crews were not yet ready to tear down that section of the building, so the odd duck has not posed much of a problem. Once the eggs hatch, the hen will abandon the nest and lead her offspring to water. Until then, Conway said, gawkers should refrain from approaching the duck.

"All that activity may disrupt and disturb her to the point where she'll abandoned the nest," he said. "If people mind their own business, she'll be fine."

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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