CHATHAM, ONT. -- A mother mallard duck has decided to make a Chatham, Ont. funeral home, well, home.
Owner and operator of Life Transitions Burial and Cremation Service Inc., James MacNeil, shared a Facebook video, showcasing 11 eggs in a nest near the back door of the office.
The eggs are tucked behind some shrubs, between the funeral home door and the parking lot.
“You can imagine, she’s doing her instinctive duty sitting on those eggs,” says MacNeil, “and then we come roaring out of this door and she’s like ‘Ahh!’ And she’s out of here!”
MacNeil says he and his wife felt bad about the constant back and forth and decided to install a privacy barrier after ruffling enough feathers.
According to the Toronto Wildlife Centre website, ducks often nest in strange areas, like backyards with barking dogs or on cement islands in the middle of parking lots.
It adds that mallards like sheltered spaces with plenty of vegetation, where the female can stay protected and hidden while she incubates her eggs.
This is the second year in a row the aquatic bird has nested in the same spot, according to MacNeil.
