Central escorts duck family of 10 back to New Britain park

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Stanley, Central's seasonal resident duck, returned to campus just before Mother’s Day and brought nine new ducklings into the world on May 23.

Central Environmental Health and Safety Coordinator Kelly Selby and her team gave the new family some time to get settled in before escorting them on May 29 to their home turf at Stanley Quarter Park in New Britain. Watch their journey online on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kksd5H9phWE/.

Stanley’s preferred nest location doesn't offer a direct exit route for pre-fledge ducklings, so the Central family kept watch to be ready for an assist. This was Stanley’s fifth spring at Central, where she has found a great location that offers excellent shelter from predators and limited human interaction.

Stanley is one of several mallards that were caught and tagged by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) at Stanley Quarter Park in New Britain. DEEP is monitoring ducks as part of an initiative to assess mallards' nesting success, including brood movement and habitat selection. Stanley was tagged in September 2022, and DEEP named her after the park.

Stanley and her nine ducklings

Stanley and her nine ducklings take in the sunshine near their nest on the Central campus.