Quack as you can! Mother duck guides her 16 newborn ducklings through downtown Thomastown

By SHANE DORAN

A MOTHER duck brought pedestrian – and some vehicular – traffic to a standstill in Thomastown yesterday as she waddled her way down the length of the South Kilkenny town with her 16 new-born ducklings in tow.

The mother had earlier given birth to her furry little brood on the grounds of the old church at the top of the Main Street.

And she had just one mission in mind: to get her little chicks to the safety of the river at the end of the street.

But first the protective new mum had to negotiate some human traffic, big and small.

One woman spotted the duck in difficulty, and cleverly managed to guide her and her obedient chicks gradually down the street in the direction of the bridge.

But she soon began to become nervous as growing number of passers-by stopped to view the spectacle and (sadly, including this reporter) whip out the mobiles to capture the moment for posterity. Or a few cheep ‘likes’.

At one point Mother Duck stopped right outside Kissane’s Pharmacy, possibly wondering if they had a cure for human stalkers.

Clearly tired from her exertions, and worried about her newborns, she struggled a bit around the sharp corner leading to the bridge, but after some clever encouragement from one or two of her more helpful human stewards she was on the home stretch.

Then it was just a short hop down the incline leading onto the river bank before finally guiding her chicks into the relative safety of the Spring Nore waters.

Nature, as is her wont, somehow found a way again.