By Sarah Fertsch
Brigantine has a new mascot who is ready to ruffle some feathers. Meet Lucy, the five-year-old green-headed mallard duck who stands up for the environment.
Lucy’s story began with its owner (and self-proclaimed duck mom), Megan Baldwin. The 18-year-old shared that she was inspired to raise a duck by her dad, who rescued an egg during a hurricane in the 1980s. He named the duck Streak, and she followed him everywhere he went. Unfortunately, as Streak grew up, she spread her wings and flew away.
Megan and her sister decided that they wanted to raise ducks of their own. So when Megan was thirteen years old, her family drove to a farm to pick up eight duck eggs. Each girl had their incubator, where they had to turn to the eggs and talk to them, so the ducklings would learn to imprint on their “mother.” Only one egg hatched, and it was Lucy. Despite his female name, Lucy is a boy “It can be difficult to tell ducklings’ genders,” chuckled Megan. The feathered male imprinted on Megan, and the two have been inseparable for the past five years.
“I like ducks a lot more than dogs,” said Megan. “Lucy is very low maintenance. He eats corn pellets, but his favorite treat is mealworms.”
In high school, Megan presented Lucy as her project for the environmental fair. She showed displays explaining how pollution affects streams and the ocean, destroying habitats for animals like Lucy. “The Marine Mammal Stranding Center and the Atlantic City Aquarium would bring animals, so I thought ‘Why not bring my best friend?’”, said Megan.
Now, Lucy stands for environmental justice and clean communities. He makes appearances at the Brigantine Farm Market while Megan shares the importance of keeping the environment clean and healthy. She also displays dioramas of a duck’s life cycle and a waterway map. Lucy and Megan also visit volunteers during beach cleanups to remind people of the importance of their work.
Today, Lucy lives a comfortable life in his pen in Megan’s backyard. He has a kiddie pool to swim in and hay for a cozy sleep. Megan enjoys taking Lucy to the bay to swim and eat some delicious crabs and shrimp. Sometimes Lucy and Megan will swim in their neighbor’s pool together and take walks along the golf course.
“We need to keep our communities clean,” said Megan. “When you take care of creatures and the environment, they will take care of you.”
