Have you ever watched wild ducks, really watched them? They are amazing bundles of feathers with feet and big appetites! Here are 36 true stories written by a former wildlife rehabilitator. Most of the stories are based on the lighter moments of rehabilitating wild ducks and observing them in their natural habitat. Appropriate for children and adults ages 3-103. Children not yet reading enjoy these stories when read to them.

Soft cover, 182 pp plus 10 pp. front matter.
ISBN 978-0-9701122-0-0

It was a typical mid-summer evening in southeast Georgia. The air was hot and humid. The gnats and mosquitoes were making their presence known. John was working in our vegetable garden when a flock of ducks ran into our yard. They arrived every day about 6 PM while touring the neighborhood for insects and other edibles. Ducks' appetite alarms sound off at the same times each day, and this was one of those times. Several ducks of various ages arrived, but those with the largest appetites were the juveniles a few months old.

I had learned many months earlier that ducks, especially young ones, will eat almost anything. A local grocery store gave me out-dated bread products to feed rehabilitating ducks. Sometimes, I also received cookies, sandwiches, tossed salads and other items that were past the sale date and on their way to the dumpster. I tried the various foods and discovered ducks consider tomatoes and cucumbers special treats. When we didn't have veggie items from the store, John and I frequently had bird-pecked tomatoes in our vegetable garden. Small cherry tomatoes or wedges of slicing tomatoes were tossed into our yard for any wildlife who wanted it. A borer in a tomato or cucumber was like the prize in a Cracker Jacks box to young ducks. This was the beginning of our backyard football games. Ducks and neighborhood children arrived nightly. The ducks were eager to "play ball" as the children watched gleefully. These games were not televised nor did they require costly tickets. They could be seen for the price of a damaged tomato.

Ducks Per Lagoon
The Feathered Fish
And Then There Were None
Curly And Company
The Rock That Walked
The Halloween Ghost
The Duck Who Plays With Barbie Dolls
Miss Motherhood
It's The Local Police!
Tux: King Of The Lagoon
The Football Game
Don't Eat The Bread!
Best Friends
Does She Feel Like Me?
The Funeral
The Great Blue Fly Catcher
Also Known As
Free Spirit: Feathered Style
Make Mine Peanut Butter!
Eeek!
Bonnie And Clyde
Yuk And Yum
Flower Pot "ER"
Mama Said "No!"
Honky Tonk: Tour Guide Extraordinaire
The Uglies
I Know Where I'm Going!
To Catch A Duck
Superduck: The Story Of Mark
The Conversation
I Want That Big One!
Miracles Do Happen
The War Zone
My Three Moms
Mister Feisty
Ducks On The Doorstep
Unanswered Questions

"Endearing, engaging, entertaining, heartwarming, heartbreaking, humorous-just as each story in Duck "Tails" by Ruthann Anderson touches one or more of these emotions so does each duck in the stories exhibit one or more of these characteristics. Duck "Tails" is a book that can be read and enjoyed almost any place at any time. Since this is a collection of true stories one can read and be entertained for just a few minutes or for quite a while.
Sue Edwards, Teacher St. Marys, GA

"It is an informative collection of stories with a unique way of teaching us life's little lessons along with a laugh or even a tear."
Marge Holtman, Director South Boston-Halifax Co. Museum of Fine Arts and History South Boston, VA

"The writing was great. You had me laughing and crying! ... The stories were very well written and 'accessible' to kids and adults. I think this book can do a lot to make people more sensitive to ducks in particular and all animals in general. "
Ann Hege Hughes, President Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore, MD