Foul Play on the Canals and Rivers of Galway By Sandra Bunting

Spring should be a pleasant time along the canals and rivers of Galway. Though still wet and windy, there is a hint of mildness in the air. Greenery is making its appearance out of cracks in walls or underfoot and the effervescence of bird song can not be contained. Everywhere new life is making an appearance. There is a nasty side, however.
On a walk along the river the dog digs into the bank, finds a cluster of baby blue and turquoise eggs and proceeds to gulp them down. The following weeks see the birth of baby ducks, those adorable little balls of yellow and black fluff. For daily walkers to the canal their arrival is a source of great excitement as the proud mother guides her dozen or so offspring up and down the canal.
However, as the days progress a sense of horror sets in as one by one the ducklings disappear. Danger looms on all sides. One little duckling is caught in a whirlpool that is headed for the lock. We watch horrified, unable to do anything, as it is swept through a tiny hole, plunged to a horrible death in the water far below, then flushed out to sea. Many different animals seem to regard the babies as a treat. Cats and mink wait on the banks and strike when one strays too close. Underwater is not even safe as even fish are known to have swallowed an unsuspecting bird.
The worst I have seen are seagulls. They swoop down and then fly up again with two little webbed feet sticking out of their mouths. Even with their beaks full, they manage to boast to their friends about their catch. My children brought home a little duck which we believe was in that same predicament. The little duckling was found lying on its back on a playground near the canal, obviously dropped by a seagull. We nursed it back to health and it paddled around our bathtub. The dog and the cat were going wild but we managed to keep them at bay. Its name was Big Belly Buddha because his stomach was prominent when it was found lying there on its back.
On advice from the local ISPCA, we took it back to the canal, tried to find its mother and lowered it into the water. Its peeping (it wasn’t able to quack yet) attracted an adult female duck which it began to follow. The children and I were so touched that it was well and reunited with its mother. Our smiles soon disappeared. The adult duck opened her beak wide and repeatedly closed it on the neck of the baby. Our dog barked hysterically and finally the larger duck swam away.
And there was Big Belly Buddha, hurt but ok, going around and around in the water, wide-eyed, innocent and completely alone..I couldn’t look as it headed for the tiny whirlpool. I heard a last peep before it fell over the edge.
Yet many do survive. Once past the critical stage, they grow amazingly fast. Their birth and growth is a delight, one of the many joys of spring. But for me, I stay away from the drama on the canal, content to live under an illusion., a selective gentler season.