More than 100 mallards released to the skies and waters in Newport Beach

As the mechanisms to their cages were released Tuesday, a few ducks bravely waddled where birds of a feather had dared not tread.

Then, one by one, several threw themselves forward off a short ledge with the quiet encouragement of the humans that had long watched over them, then swan-dived into the waters below. Others took wing, soaring into nearby Huntington Beach until they disappeared in the distance while the others navigated the slow current.

After nearly a month’s delay, the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center Tuesday released more than 100 mallards back to the wild in Newport Beach at an unlikely setting — the backyard of the Beach and Bay Mobile Home Port on West Coast Highway.

Resident Fred Waterfall, vice president of public relations and marketing at Simple Green, offered up the nearby marsh waters at the back of the mobile home park as a release point for the mallards. Waterfall said the FaBrizio family — the founders of Simple Green — have had him working and coordinating with the rescue group. The overarching goal is to help out animals and environmentalists trying to do the right thing.

Male and female mallards, who were indirect oil spill victims, exit their holding boxes as they are released to their natural habitat in the Semeniuk Slough in west Newport Beach on Tuesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“This is just one of the many, many things that we look for and try to help on and everyone knows we’re available,” said Waterfall, adding the company’s been helping store donations that the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center received for wildlife care following the Huntington Beach oil spill.

The organization announced Monday that it received the clearance to release the birds last week at Talbert Marsh, but were still concerned about the potential for oil spill impacts and thus pivoted to the back of the trailer park for release after officials said Waterfall offered up the area near his own property.

Waterfall said the waters lead as far out as Cappy’s Cafe.

Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center operations manager Debbie Wayns said Tuesday that the ducks were initially scheduled to be released the first week of October, but then the oil spill happened.

“We couldn’t release them out to any of the waters around here because we didn’t know how far [the oil spill] was going to go and all that,” said Wayns. “They’ve been with us for a while because of it.”

Male and female mallards, who were indirect oil spill victims, exit their holding boxes as they are released to their natural habitat in the Semeniuk Slough in west Newport Beach on Tuesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Wayns said this was the first time that the organization has done a release at the location, but added that it wouldn’t be the last. She said they typically release animals from different parks and areas. Many of the mallards, which are common to the area, were brought into the organization as ducklings.

“They were abandoned by their mom for whatever reason and the public saw abandoned — sometimes, they weren’t abandoned, but the public saw them, grabbed them and brought them to us, but they were babies and they came to us,” said Wayns.

“A lot of them, we’ve raised up for the last couple of months. Some of them came in with fishing hooks in them. Some of them were sick, as we’ve had a couple of botulism outbreaks in Orange County. A couple of them had botulism, but most of these we have raised up, though.”

Resident Devyn Asher said she was going to make pancakes, but didn’t have baking powder and was passing by on a grocery run when she saw the news vans rolling up through the neighborhood. She’d asked what was happening and, upon learning about the release, came out to watch with visiting friend and Dana Point resident Chaney Bryant.

“I was about to make pancakes and then I found out about ducks and I abandoned my pancakes,” Bryant said, laughing.

Asher and Bryant helped release some of the ducks.

“It’s absolutely amazing to contribute to any life sustaining is a gift, but I didn’t come to help. I just came to see them and then I ended up getting to help, so I’m happy about it,” said Bryant.

“[The ducks] were hesitant because it’s a new spot, but once all of them got out? It was just awesome. Like 60 or 70 of them just together,” Asher added. “It was beautiful.”

Male and female mallards, who were indirect oil spill victims, take to the water as they are released to their natural habitat in the Semeniuk Slough in west Newport Beach on Tuesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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