Kia ora whānau,
Just a little lighthearted entry this month.
Given the theme of one of our biggest fundraisers of the year, which is now fast approaching, it feels appropriate to spend some time waxing lyrical about ducks. Not the plastic bath toys we’re sending down the river in a few weeks, but the real deal.
I came truly to appreciate ducks when I began to cycle to town via Te Henui walkway. Anyone who’s familiar with this route will know that one particular section – near the bowls club, just before the Coastal Walkway and East End Beach – is home to a thriving flock of ducks. Cycling past them twice almost every day quickly endeared me to them, and before I knew it, ducks had become one of my favourite animals. Simply spotting them doing their thing, going about their day, for a few moments whilst I passed through, is easily the highlight of my commute.
As such, I’d like to go through some of the reasons why I adore ducks, and why we should all be hyped for the celebration of these magnificently silly creatures at the Duck Race:
Their resounding optimism
I have been lucky enough to have had ducks featuring in my bike commutes in the past – albeit less reliably. When I lived in Auckland, there was a chance that I would spot ducks in the distance as I glided through Tamaki Drive. What I came to love about them was that, after heavy rain, they would flock to flooded fields and even puddles, ready to seize the opportunity for a good swim. Their gorgeous optimism – making the best of, and finding joy in a bad situation – was endlessly delightful to me, particularly around the time of Cyclone Gabrielle and the flooding in Auckland during early 2023, when the weather was utterly heinous. It’s much harder to feel despair about a situation when you spot a handful of ducks happily paddling around a newly formed body of water, made possible only by that bad situation. I don’t know how they manage to find these flooded areas, either – it’s like they have a special radar for it – but it always makes me feel a little better about the world.
Their coexistence with humans
We don’t have a lot of wild animals in New Zealand – not, at least, when you consider hotter climates where snakes, spiders, and other such delights run rampant. Perhaps this is for the best! As such, living in urban New Plymouth, I always find a certain joy in animals who have figured out how to live right alongside us, both in town centres and greener areas (excluding mosquitoes, flies, and other creatures that exist only to make us miserable). And whilst ducks still exercise a healthy caution around humans, the fact that they’re readily visible thriving in their natural habitat, which just happens to be our habitat too, and the fact that they’re incorporated into our lives – with going out to feed the ducks (whilst perhaps not especially healthy for them) being an established activity – is just delightful. We’ve accepted their presence, they’ve accepted ours, and we’re generally happy to let each other be. I wish we could witness more animals like this: comfortable in their natural setting, wild and free. I feel it means that we get to see and learn a lot more about ducks than many other animals – because we live with them!
Their social nature
I love that ducks live in a community, and feel safer when they’re around each other. Something about seeing them sleeping, swimming, and simply standing around in little groups is extremely endearing. In fact, they are sociable to a heartbreaking extent: some (less common these days) duck hunting methods exploit the fact that ducks are more likely to populate areas where other ducks are already present, as it signals safety. So having a pretend duck or a group of tame ducks available to lure wild ducks is a very effective method of capturing them. On a happier note, another delightful aspect of their sociable nature is the way that ducklings hang around their mother in a little group, following her faithfully in a neat line. Cycling past the ducks during spring – at which point a number of tiny, fluffy ducks appeared – was even more of a joy for this reason. I had a similar delight on a previous commute, but in this latter case, the duck and its offspring were shunted to the side of a busy road, subsisting on a small patch of grass and a barely trickling stream; I worried every time I passed them. Seeing these walkway ducks quietly thriving in an area traversed only by pedestrians and careful cyclists is much more heartwarming.
Their surprising capabilities
Ducks are, undeniably, extremely silly looking. Something about the combination of a beak, round body, and stick-thin bird feet is just inherently funny. The fact that they are patently absurd animals makes me love it even more that ducks are adept in a myriad of ways. They are excellent swimmers, with waterproof feathers that are also perfectly engineered to keep them warm; they can fly shockingly high (up to cruising altitude!) and for a good, long time, which – to me – feels like it shouldn’t be possible (given the aforementioned round body); and they can thrive on land, as well. They are also highly adaptable birds, with their bodies’ spectacular thermoregulation abilities allowing them to live comfortably in most parts of the world. In fact, mallard ducks are so good at adapting that they are in some places considered invasive, because they have a tendency to mate with local duck species, harming the successful propagation of the latter – as purebreds, at least.
…Plus a whole load of miscellaneous things
Some additional things to love about ducks which I couldn’t otherwise satisfactorily categorise are as follows:
- They sleep with their beak tucked into their feathers for warmth and safety, which is so cute
- They quack quietly to themselves whilst waddling along – objectively a hilarious sight
- They have really cool colouring: purpley blue under their wings, and – for the drakes – a green head
- They’re naturally curious
- They bob their heads up and down when they’re happy (or in the mood to mate, but let’s focus on the first bit)
So, next time you see a flock of ducks, take a moment to appreciate how delightful they really are – and how lucky we are to coexist with them. Notice their little mannerisms and activities. Enjoy their inherently comedic nature. And then, come and celebrate their existence with us at the duck race, where there will be thousands of rubber duckies racing along, which even have a few traits in common with actual ducks (duck-shaped, has a beak and wings, floats on water). I would say that it’s almost as good as the real thing, but the duck race has prizes and trophies, thousands of participants, and good standing as a great family/community day out – whereas ducks are, well, ducks. Both are joyful in their own way. So you can’t compare them, really.