Staff at the Weyburn SaskEnergy office found themselves in a ‘fowl’ situation this spring. In the end, though, it turned out to be an adorable situation.  

“One of our customer service reps was walking in and noticed a duck going into the buses near the main entrance for the building,” explained Alana Johnson, the Director of Strategic Communications with the Crown gas utility. “They thought that was quite interesting and looked a little closer, and noticed that there was a nest right in the bushes, right by the main entrance of the building there.” 

It would end up being the topic of conversation in the office that day, and people took the chance to check out the nest itself. They noticed there were four eggs there at first, but then after a few days, it was up to 10 eggs.  

“It really became a daily occurrence, and really, event, for people to check, and I know on the weekends people were bringing kids and grandchildren to come see the eggs, to see how mama duck was doing, Johnson continued.  

The staff took precautions to make sure the nest was safe. There were pylons put up to let people know not to park near the nest, and to ensure there was enough space things wouldn’t be disturbed. They also made sure there was some expertise who was able to provide some advice, and they reached out to Ducks Unlimited. The organization helped out the staff by giving them tips on what to do, and what not to do.  

Of course, it isn’t every day that a duck chooses to make its nest near a somewhat busy building, and this caught Ducks Unlimited slightly by surprise. 

“From satellite imaging, there didn’t seem to be any nearby water, so at first, there’s some concern that perhaps mama had chosen, you know, not the best nesting site,” Johnson said of the concerns expressed by Ducks Unlimited. “However, further investigation noted that down the street from that building there’s a bridge with a creek nearby, so it seems like she found a good spot.” 

Ducks Unlimited also explained to the staff that the location was likely chosen to help provide protection from predators.  

Checking the eggs was a daily occurrence for the staff, until June 12th. Then, the first of the eggs hatched, and within a few hours, they were all out of the shell.  

“It was pretty exciting when they all hatched,” Johnson said. “It happened in the morning, and everybody was pretty excited, and by that evening she had moved her ducklings away and to the water.” 

Two ducklings emerging from the bushes outside the Weyburn SaskEnergy officeTwo ducklings emerging from the bushes outside the Weyburn SaskEnergy office

The first of the ducklings to hatch was named David, in honour of the operations manager at the office in Weyburn. The mom was appropriately named Daisy, and the rest of the ducklings received names as well.  

While the ducks may be gone for this season, it doesn’t mean they won’t return, though.  

“What we learned through this process is that if this was a good spot, and everything was successful, which from our end seems it has, she may choose us as a recurring nesting spot, so I know that we have a team there that’s going to be looking back in May next year, into that bush to see if that mom has come back.”