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LEGGATT'S POINT WILDLIFE. A wildlife sanctuary is any place where nesting wildlife feel they have protection to continue the procreation and raising of their species.Leggatt's Point, has, over the years, with careful scrutiny of all residents, become this place of refuge for many different wild fowl. They return to us in the spring and mate, filling the little bays and secluded coves with their calls. Then, after many weeks, during which time, we, as local residents, avoid disturbing them; they retire to the woods to hatch the next generation. Much to our delight, the circle of life completes itself in June as families appear with flotillas of tiny siblings floating close to shore. This is the time they are most vulnerable to predators. By disturbing them, we would have another Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring". We curtail our beach walks until the ducklings can endure the rigors of a sometimes stormy sea. Those of you, who are summer visitors, have no idea that the mother ducks and ducklings are anything but just part of this beach. In fact, it has taken years of close surveillance by us all who live here, to protect this shore, as 'sanctuary' to them and therefore, to us all. So that your children's children can have the life experience of seeing the duck families, we offer this insight into "Life on Leggatt's Point." The mother ducks are quite emaciated by the time they get their little brood into the sea. They have not left the nest to eat except for short periods. At this point it takes all of their remaining vigour just to control the brood and should they encounter predators, they will expend their last remaining life force and their very life to protect them. After the individual family are old enough to be sea-borne, and mothers set up "sitting communes", they leave their duckling in the care of other mothers and go off to feed. They must do this to renew their strength for the fall migration. So when you see a mother, with some two dozen ducklings, she is watching four or five families. She is in fact, running a nursery! At this point which is late June, we resume beach walks and keep a wary eye on predators. These can be foxes and occasionally a wild cat or weasel in the first few weeks, or dogs at the latter water-borne stage. To prevent loss of the Point as a sanctuary and choice of place, we do ask all residents to control their dogs during the June through July period.
By Diana Diener,
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