RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Wildlife Center of Virginia knows winter by a different name — “weird duck season.”
January saw two new admissions to the Wildlife Center for care, with both duck species being non-native to Virginia: the ruddy duck and the lesser scaup.
Both of these duck species are migratory. They leave their northern breeding grounds to head south for the winter, passing through Virginia along the way.
These two ducks decided to extend their stays — but not for the best reasons.
The ruddy duck was admitted to the Wildlife Center on Jan. 17 by an animal control officer, who found the male duck injured along a Richmond road.
His examination led staff to believe he mistook the roadway for a body of water and dove at it, injuring the inside of his mouth and both eyes in the resulting crash. What made this worse is that ruddy ducks can only take off from water — which means he was left stranded until the officer found him.
The ruddy duck sadly passed away a few days after his arrival, likely due to his head trauma.
The second duck, a lesser scaup, arrived at the Wildlife Center days later. She was found in Augusta County by an animal control officer surrounded by a group of outdoor cats, unable to fly.
The lesser scaup’s initial examination found no clear injuries. However, a blood test found abnormal levels of lead in her system — which the Wildlife Center have previously seen in cases where ducks were attacked by cats.
As cat bites can be difficult to locate — meaning she could have one or more and they might simply not be evident — the staff decided to treat the lesser scaup as they would another animal that had been attacked by cats. Such an injury could be very dangerous if untreated.
The therapy staff administered to the lesser scaup helped her feel better over the course of a week. By Jan. 25, she was ready to return to the wild.
Staff are hopeful the lesser scaup will be able to make it south for the winter, should she choose to.
To read more about these two “weird ducks” and to watch a video of the lesser scaup’s release, visit the Wildlife Center of Virginia’s website.
