The ducks are back at Cottonwood Island Park.
Once the cold set in and the snow inundated Prince George recently Paul Cailleaux and Brock Bailey knew it was time to start feeding the ducks again.
As Cailleaux said, word spreads fast in the duck world and after the first feeding of about 20 ducks took place Jan. 1, it only took a few days and now there are upwards of 300 gathering near the bridge by the main parking lot at Cottonwood.
Right now all of the ducks at the park are mallards.
Cailleaux pointed out that as always, there are followers and there are leaders. All it takes is for one duck to come to the feeding area and then as we all can imagine Cailleaux and Bailey have all their ducks in a row as the pair of kind-hearted men watch the fowl waddle over to the food.
"It's quite entertaining for the park goers," Cailleaux said. "We just ask that people don't let their dogs chase the ducks."
The energy the ducks expend escaping harm can be better spent in other ways, like survival, he added.
Bailey, who retired from a career as a federal wildlife officer, makes it clear that no, they're not saving a species or making a huge environmental impact, but to help sustain 300 local ducks through the winter will help make it easier on them come spring when they are supposed to be nesting and thriving.
One of the most asked questions is why the ducks stay here instead of heading south.
"Ducks are fairly hearty," Bailey said. "So they quite often hang around a lot later than even the geese do. The geese tend to head south quicker. Now these particular birds that hang here we think that they end up being able to scavenge, especially this year because they had a lot of food availability because of there was not much snow on the fields. Generally I think what happens is they end up sticking around on the Fraser and on the Nechako and then they end up picking up a fair amount of food from the grain cars that come through on the railroad up in Miworth and in town."
As the weather gets colder and the snow covers up their food source that's when the ducks need help to sustain themselves, he added.
"They've built up fat and muscle mass over the spring and summer but the longer they stay here and fly around the less energy they have because it gets really cold and everything is frozen from here to the coast so food sources are pretty limited and they tend to stick around," Bailey explained.
Bailey said years ago people were bringing him birds that had literally dropped dead out of the sky. The ducks looked plump but upon closer examination they had wasted away.
Cailleaux and Bailey took on the project together, including going out every day for the last four years from January to March and incurring the expense of buying the feed. Last year was a good year for getting help and many individuals would buy a bag of feed at Spruce Capital Feeds and Bailey or Cailleaux would go pick them up as needed. The longtime friends, who both belong to Ducks Unlimited and are life-long hunters and conservationists, spread 60 pounds of feed, that's a bag and a half of food, every day. The physical effort of packing the feed and then taking their shovels and spreading it as far and wide as they can is quite a chore.
Cailleaux and Bailey know there is a pecking order in the duck world so if the feed isn't spread out, only the dominant males would get the food. By spreading it out, the females will get to the feed, too.
Bailey and Cailleaux got further sponsorship from some farmers in Vanderhoof, specifically Dale and Sheila Martens of Landmark Farms, who have donated tons of peas to the cause.
"So we try to help the ducks eek out an existence until the spring and I think last year especially we did a really good job," Bailey said. "We had those birds fed pretty well thanks to the people who stepped up and donated. Don't get me wrong the birds weren't in great shape but they survived a lot better than they would've without us and we like to do it."
Years ago birds were dying because of lack of food.
"So Paul and I thought we'd step up and do what we could," Bailey said. "We know that even if we didn't feed them the ducks would still be here, they couldn't go anywhere so the little we can provide them, especially when the weather is really cold, it just helps them survive the winter and get them ready for their spring nesting."
Cailleaux and Bailey have known each other for at least 25 years sharing their love of the great outdoors and hunting water fowl.
"It's been a pretty good relationship for the last 25 years," Cailleaux said.
Bailey raises pheasants and trains retriever hunting dogs, while Cailleaux spends his time enjoying life, hunting and feeding the ducks all winter long.
If people are interested in supporting Cailleaux and Bailey in feeding the ducks, they can donate at Spruce Capital Feeds, 1694 Quinn St. South.
