A Sudden Snare On The Asphalt
The mother duck marched along the shoulder of the empty highway, her webbed feet slapping against the coarse pavement as seven tiny ducklings trailed in a tight formation behind her.
A green plastic mesh net lay discarded near the gravel edge directly in their path.
The smallest duckling stumbled forward, stepping right into the woven mesh until the plastic loops pulled tight around its soft yellow belly and tiny legs.
Its mother turned around immediately, fluttering her wings against the dry air and quacking loudly while nudging the tangled chick with the tip of her beak.
The little bird kicked its feet, but the green netting only cinched tighter around its downy feathers.
The rest of the brood huddled together a few paces away, watching their sibling struggle on the gravel.
A Driver Kneels On The Gravel
An older pickup truck rolled to a halt along the shoulder, its tires grinding over loose rock before the engine fell quiet.
A man wearing a denim jacket opened the driver’s door and walked toward the agitated flock.
The mother duck stood tall over her trapped chick, opening her beak and hissing while keeping her body stationed between the human and the net.
The man sank down onto his knees in the dust, lowering his hands slowly toward the ground.
He kept his fingers open and loose, pausing just inches away from the tangled mesh to let the mother inspect him.
She snapped her bill once against his sleeve, then stepped back onto the road surface and waited.
Working The Threads Free
The man reached under the duckling, cradling its tiny warm body between his palms while his thumbs worked at the green strands.
He pulled each loop of plastic over the bird’s tiny wings, unhooking the stubborn grid from its foot joints one thread at a time.
The duckling chirped continuously, pecking lightly at the man’s knuckles as he lifted the last loop over its head.
The green mesh fell away onto the gravel.
Instead of setting the duckling loose right on the roadway where traffic could pass, the man scooped the baby into his palms and stood up.
The mother duck followed right at his boots, her neck extended upward while her remaining ducklings scampered closely behind.
Returning To The Water
The man carried the chick toward a grassy pond bank just off the gravel shoulder.
He knelt down in the tall reeds, opening his hands near the waterline so the duckling could hop onto the soft mud.
The mother duck waddled directly past his knees, gathered her brood around her, and slipped into the clear water.
The camera frames the man standing by the side of his truck, hands resting inside his denim pockets, smiling as the entire family paddles into the center of the pond.
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