PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A mallard hen who is waiting for her nestful of eggs to hatch in a flower box in front of a University of Maine at Presque Isle building has pushed aside the UMPI owl mascot to take center stage on campus this month.
Michelle Green, administrative specialist in the university library, said Monday afternoon that she first spotted the duck and her nest on May 1 in front of the university’s Center for Innovative Learning, when faculty, staff, and students were celebrating UMPI Day by cleaning up around campus.
“I had seen her a few days before in the flower bed, but I just thought she was hanging around,” Green said. “Then, when I was cleaning out the flower bed, I found three eggs in her nest and thought for sure she would abandon it, but she came back.”
Campus officials decided to leave the duck and her nest exactly where they were and to ensure they were disturbed as little as possible so she could hatch her eggs.
Vanessa Pearson, director of student success, oversees the Center for Innovative Learning and put signs out around the duck so people would know the mallard was there and keep their distance.
Green said students have obeyed the signs while still being very curious about the mallard, taking pictures and watching it as they walk by.
Pearson said the traffic at the center has increased, with people coming inside to watch the duck through the big front windows, which are tinted and make it easier for people to observe without the duck seeing them.
The campus even changed this past weekend’s commencement ceremonies to accommodate the duck. Normally, faculty and staff would cheer on graduates as they marched past the Center for Innovative Learning on their procession from the Campus Center to Wieden Hall. On Saturday, the cheering was done instead at the entrance of Wieden Hall.
Dr. Jason Johnston, assistant professor of wildlife ecology at UMPI and an ornithologist, estimates that the eggs will hatch in late May. He also helped put a plan in place for after the hatchings.
If the eggs hatch during the day, Pearson and Johnston will escort the mom and ducklings down the walkways, through campus, and across the road until they are safely on their way to nearby water.
Johnston said it’s fairly typical for the birds to be on their way to the nearest body of water within hours of hatching.
Until the eggs hatch, the university has set up a “Duck Cam” to allow the mallard hen to nest undisturbed while giving the campus and community the opportunity to check in on what’s happening with her and her eggs.
Green said she has only seen the duck leave her nest a few times to get food and water. She is curious to see if the family of ducks will continue to stick around the university after the hatching.
“That would be neat,” she said.