Originally published on May 8, 2021 9:36 am
This spring Steve Stuttard reunited with an unusual friend: Mrs. Mallard, a duck that nested in the fuchsia planter on his ninth-story apartment balcony in Manchester, U.K., last year. Upon her return, she laid 11 eggs in a planter filled with grass.
"I know ducks have strange routines when it comes to nesting, and mallards, if they have a successful site, they will return to it," says Stuttard, a retired Royal Navy survival specialist and an avid bird lover since childhood.
Those skills came in handy last year when he devised a system to quickly and safely transport Mrs. Mallard's seven ducklings down to the water 20 to 30 meters from the base of his building once they hatched.