Crofton Online: Duck Watch
Volunteers Struggle to Save Ducks;
Controversy Engulfs Board, Procom;
Rescue Efforts Continue
Close to a hundred volunteers spent this week desperately attempting to rescue baby ducklings and other wildlife as the long delayed dredging of the Aberdeen Drive Duck Pond in Crofton Meadows finally got under way.

As the water level dropped, several feet of muck engulfed the ducks, with the first casualty occurred on Saturday [August 8] as a baby duckling succumbed to botulism, spread by the rising temperatures in the rapidly shrinking pond.

Meanwhile, the Crofton Meadows Board of Directors and their management agent Procom (Professional Community Management , Inc.) bore the brunt of citizens' anger at what some called their lack of concern about protecting the wildlife during the dredging.

Adults and youngsters of all ages gathered at the pond Sunday morning in response to telephone calls from Joyce Yore, one of the Duck Ladies interviewed recently by Crofton Online.

The volunteers used nets, wire fencing, and their bare hands to rescue baby ducklings so young that they were unable to fly. Injured ducks, turtles, and occasionally fish, were pulled from the muck and moved to other area ponds, or to the Chesapeake Wildlife Sanctuary on Route 301 south of Rips Restaurant.





An inflatable boat, a canoe, and even a small electric boat were used to capture the obviously frightened wildlife.

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