For the handful of house guests that showed up at the Porters unannounced on Tuesday, it’s been shredded lettuce and water on the menu as the Glendale family figures out what to do with their guests.
Four ducklings have suddenly become dependent on the family after their mother flew away in a panic as Lin and Brett Porter cornered the ducklings with a net and removed them from the pool. The 20-minute-long effort had the ducklings chirping and diving under water to evade capture.
“They tried to get out of the pool, but their legs are so small they couldn’t get out,” Brett Porter said.
The mother Mallard duck flew away in the confusion and one brown, tan-speckled duckling waddled out of sight into nearby bushes on a neighbor’s property.
The Porters, who live just west of the Rossmoyne District, placed the four remaining ducklings in a cooler. Brett Porter researched the eating habits of ducklings on the Internet and when he read that lettuce is an option, he shredded some and placed it in the cooler with drinking water.