One lucky duck

Nothing is sadder than a lame duck.

Nothing, that is, unless it's a duck with a broken wing trapped in a freezing pond.

That was the predicament facing a ruddy duck until a compassionate DuPage County Forest Preserve ranger and an intrepid kayaker saved it from a dire fate Sunday.

The ruddy duck, known for its blue bill and rust-colored plumage, winters in the south coastal states and summers in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

During the spring migration season, it was spotted at Wood Dale Grove Forest Preserve pond by ranger Susan Lawrence.

When the duck didn't fly away with the other birds and remained in the pond, "I could tell there was something definitely wrong," Lawrence said.

She and colleagues tried to rescue the wounded duck in October, but "he wanted nothing to do with us," Lawrence said.

With winter weather approaching, Lawrence enlisted the help of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, an organization that protects migratory birds, whose members recognized an emergency.

"Temperatures were dropping, and the open water was closing down," CBCM Director Annette Prince of Lombard said.

On Sunday morning, CBCM volunteer Jim Tibensky took a kayak into the water in pursuit of the duck. Despite the elusive bird's constant diving, Tibensky persevered, and eventually it left the water for the land, into Lawrence's waiting arms.

"I was very happy to have that duck in my hands," she said.

The bird was taken to the DuPage County Forest Preserve's Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn. Wildlife specialist Sandy Woltman confirmed it was a male in good health, about 1 year old with a broken wing.

The duck won't be able to fly again, so it will stay at Willowbrook until it can be placed in a suitable facility.

Left on its own in the water, "I'm not sure what his fate would have been," Lawrence said, "but it wouldn't have been good."