Duckling day dawned at the University of Cambridge last week in a tradition known about by college porters but rarely glimpsed by the public.
Staff sprang into action to escort a mother duck and her babies from her nesting spot in college grounds through gates, up stairs, across roads and even over a bridge to the safety of the riverbank.
It’s an annual procession, but only the duck knows which day she will emerge with her ducklings in one of the courts at Corpus Christi College - and then a message is quickly sent out to other colleges to prepare for her arrival.
Lee Peters, a porter at Corpus Christi, was on duty last Friday when he realised this year the honour would be his.
He says: “This is one of the nicest jobs I have to do as a porter. I’ve worked here 22 years and it’s only the fourth time I have escorted the mother duck and her ducklings - we never know which day she will come out of the nest and want to leave, so it just depends who is on duty that day.
“She surprised us this year. Usually she nests in New Court, but we’ve had some alterations done to the planting there so she had built her nest in Old Court and no one realised until someone from the maintenance team spotted her last Friday when she decided it was time to bring out her ducklings and make her annual pilgrimage to the river.
“That’s when I got the call and I knew the drill - that they would go across to St Catharine’s and through to Queens’ and then to the river. I had to phone the other colleges to ask them to open their gates.
“The tradition is that the college porter on duty has to make sure they get there safely. That's basically what I did.”
Walking alongside the mother and her babies, Lee had to hold back the crowds and follow the duck on her path.
“There were a lot of people around,” he said, “and she was getting a bit upset. I told people to get back and just just let her do what she wants to do.
“She would normally come out by the main gate, but not this time, because she was in a different courtyard. But she still had the sense to know where she needed to go across the road to Cat's. So we opened our Golden Gate to let her out while I stopped the traffic on Trumpington Street.
“She goes across the road, and Cat's open their main gate, which takes you into their new courtyard. This has been happening every year since the sixties so we have an arrangement that they will open the gate to let the ducklings through.
“I walked them to the back lane which we crossed and then went into Queens’, who had also opened their gates. I had to help the ducklings up some steps, just cupping my hands under them so they could step on them if they fell back. Then we crossed the Mathematical Bridge and people were watching us from the Silver Street bridge.
“On the other side of the bridge she went down the riverbank and into the water where I checked all the ducklings were there and then watched as she swam off. My job was done. The bursar had come with me so we walked back to the college together. It’s a lovely thing to do if you get the opportunity.”
The University Library also has ducks who return to nest in their grounds every year, but as the journey is too long and dangerous for the birds to make on foot they are given a helping hand by the facilities team.
A spokesperson for the library said: “The mother nests in the courtyard — they must choose it because it’s a sheltered and relatively safe space for them.
“When the ducklings hatch, the facilities team gather them up - ducklings in one crate, mother in another - and safely move them to the river.
“The ducks have been nesting in the courtyard for decades now and have several broods each year. These ducklings still had their egg tooth, so they can’t have been more than a day or so old.
“This was the first hatch of the season, and the facilities team said there will be at least one more to come.”
