St. Mary's Villa is a long-term care home located in Humboldt, Saskatchewan.

Jessica Sanden, the Clinical Manager for St. Mary's Villa sent us the following.

"Like the legendary swallows that return to Capistrano, California each year, the Mallard duck is back at St. Mary’s Villa in Humboldt.

What started more than two decades ago, as a momma duck nesting and hatching her young in the middle of the courtyard at the long-term care facility, has become an annual event.

Villa residents and staff eagerly await their duck’s return. Resident Allan keeps a keen eye on the nesting area and reports there are eight eggs this year. Once the ducklings hatch, the SHA regional electrician and wildlife enthusiast Dayton Klashinsky is called. With big hearts for the feathered friends, lots of smiles, and much laughter, staff take to their task like ducks to water. They catch the mom and babies and transfer them to a local pond. The ducks have no water source in the Villa courtyard so the family is relocated to a spot where the ducklings can grow up, develop their swimming and feeding skills, and get ready to fly away in the fall.

Villa residents love the annual waterfowl roundup! Like birds of a feather, they flock together by the windows to watch and join in the fun. As the seasons pass, residents and staff will be back at the windows next spring in the hopes the duck family and its descendants return again."

The residents sure enjoy watching the ducks every year and hopefully for many more years to come.