By Kayode Crown
A group concerned with the fate of the ducks at Big Spring Park in Huntsville met with the city last month and secured three ramps to let tiny ducklings move in and out of the pond.
“I am elated, relieved,” said Catherine O’Kain. “I just felt, like, giddy on Wednesday when I came down and saw them working.”
Earlier this year, O’Kain and others expressed concern that recent repairs to the downtown pond raised the concrete barrier around the water. O’Kain said the ducklings might be in danger if they cannot jump out of the pond to nestle under their mothers’ feathers.
The three directors of the Waterfowl Enthusiasts at Big Spring — O’Kain, Holly Lutz and Lindsey Wilmer — met with City Administrator John Hamilton in March to discuss remedies.
“My idea was to stack rocks,” O’Kain said. “There’s already rocks all along the perimeter.”
“It doesn’t require any construction, no drilling into concrete, anything like that,” she said. “So that’s essentially what they did in two areas over there and one over here by the bridge—three different places.”
“Wednesday, I showed up down here, and they were building it,” O’Kain told AL.com with palpable excitement Friday morning at the Park.
Great news! City of Huntsville, Alabama – Government heard our concerns and built duckling ramps! We are so happy and…Posted by Waterfowl Enthusiasts at Big Spring – “Webs” on Thursday, April 4, 2024
The city welcomes community input about the downtown park, spokesperson Kelly Schrimsher said in a statement to AL.com on Friday.
“We appreciate community input and are glad to provide the new ramps in Big Spring Park for waterfowl that might need a little extra assistance,” Schrimsher said in the statement.
Councilman Bill Kling, who, in a conversation with AL.com in February, called on the City to provide a remedy, is pleased with the resolution.
“It worked out good,” he told AL.com on Friday. “I think it’s kind of nice that we take care of the big things that come up in the city, but it’s nice that we can take care of these types of things that show that Huntsville has a heart. I feel good about it. I think our city folks did a great job to work it out.”
Waterfowl Enthusiasts at Big Spring takes responsibility for the ducks’ welfare at the park, and O’Kain said things are in order just in time for when the ducklings start hatching.
“I know there are some that are going to be hatching,” she said. “I’m just so thankful that the ramps got done before that because every day I was coming out the past couple of weeks, it was just kind of with a sense of dread.”
