Repair & Maint. of the Waverly Duck
Donation protected
For many years, the "Waverly Duck" on the lake at Waverly Park welcomed visitors to Albany as they came into town from the north. (It always brought a smile to my face when driving past...)
That stopped due to the owner's health issues & funding to maintain the duck -- and it was removed from the lake several years ago. The City of Albany now owns the duck, but has opted to not fund repairs and or maintenance.
Recently, many folks have suggested that it come back.
Current estimates peg the repair costs at ~$2000 and ongoing maintenance of the duck to be about $2000 per year -- hence this campaign. As you can easily see in the picture just below, it is in need of some R&R!
Volunteers will be needed to assist with the actual repainting & refurbishing before it can go back into the lake. To volunteer for a "work party" day, please contact Mayor Sharon Konopa: [email redacted]
100% of the results of this GoFundMe campaign will go to the non-profit 501c(3) Albany Parks & Recreation Foundation to be used solely for the repairs and ongoing maintenance of the duck:
Albany Parks and Recreation Foundation
4207 Shortridge Street SE
Albany, OR 97322-6493
Checks can be mailed to them directly if preferred, OR, dropped off at the City of Albany Parks & Recreation counter...
Retired Democrat Herald editor Hasso Hering has written several posts recently:
January 9th, 2017
http://hh-today.com/proposed-the-waverly-ducks-return/
February 3rd, 2017
http://hh-today.com/ducks-return-looks-possible-now/
March 9th, 2017
http://hh-today.com/waverly-duck-repairs-are-doable/
In addition, back in 1993, the Democrat Herald ran an article about a KGW-TV interview of the "issue" with the duck:
**********
Several try to explain behavior of goose
By CATHY MADDUX
Albany Democrat Herald 4/8/93
So just what is that goose up to that appears to be courting the giant Sprayfoam duck on Waverly Lake?
For the past several weeks, the Canada goose has been swimming near the big duck and hisses at anyone who gets too close.
Film crews from KGW-TV in Portland filmed a segment about the duck, and the clip was picked up for NBC's national affiliates, according to Linda La Fleur of the Albany Parks and Recreation Department.
Since the airing on KGW, visitors have been flocking to the lake to see the goose.
Wildlife biologist Neil TenEyck of the state Fish and Wildlife Department at Adair Village said the goose's behavior can be explained scientifically and has nothing to do with love.
TenEyck suspects that the goose is trying to attract a mate so he can begin nesting. He said the goose either has picked out an area to call home on the bank or some place on the duck.
It is also possible that the goose is disoriented. More likely, he said, the goose is defending a possible breeding territory.
If the goose has mated, the gander is standing guard and watching for predators, he said. Most fees in the mid-valley have mated by now.
But the creators of the big duck have other ideas about what the goose is doing. They believe the goose has fallen in love with the wood duck.
Joyce Schwab, manager of Sprayfoam located on Century Drive, said the whole thing is humorous.
"It just proves that decoys work," she said. "The bigger the decoy the better because the birds see the decoys when they are flying overhead."
Schwab said she does not know what it is about the duck that attracts the goose. The duck is fifty years old and made of polyurethane spray foam. Several years ago, Willamette Industries paid to have the duck coated with fiberglass so the bird would not fall apart.
The duck is 13 feet long and 6 feet tall.
"The lady goose is going to be disappointed when her eggs don't hatch this spring," she said. "Nevertheless, she's not going to leave her honey."
Schwab said she is pleased that the goose is remaining by the duck because that might make Graham Frasier of Halsey happy.
The young boy recently wrote the company asking that sprayfoam man Steve Fletcher create five baby ducks for the big duck. Lots of people would like that, the boy said.
It is too expensive to create baby ducks, so the goose will have to do for now, Schwab said.
She estimates that it cost about $5,000 to build the big duck.
That stopped due to the owner's health issues & funding to maintain the duck -- and it was removed from the lake several years ago. The City of Albany now owns the duck, but has opted to not fund repairs and or maintenance.
Recently, many folks have suggested that it come back.
Current estimates peg the repair costs at ~$2000 and ongoing maintenance of the duck to be about $2000 per year -- hence this campaign. As you can easily see in the picture just below, it is in need of some R&R!
Volunteers will be needed to assist with the actual repainting & refurbishing before it can go back into the lake. To volunteer for a "work party" day, please contact Mayor Sharon Konopa: [email redacted]
100% of the results of this GoFundMe campaign will go to the non-profit 501c(3) Albany Parks & Recreation Foundation to be used solely for the repairs and ongoing maintenance of the duck:
Albany Parks and Recreation Foundation
4207 Shortridge Street SE
Albany, OR 97322-6493
Checks can be mailed to them directly if preferred, OR, dropped off at the City of Albany Parks & Recreation counter...
Retired Democrat Herald editor Hasso Hering has written several posts recently:
January 9th, 2017
http://hh-today.com/proposed-the-waverly-ducks-return/
February 3rd, 2017
http://hh-today.com/ducks-return-looks-possible-now/
March 9th, 2017
http://hh-today.com/waverly-duck-repairs-are-doable/
In addition, back in 1993, the Democrat Herald ran an article about a KGW-TV interview of the "issue" with the duck:
**********
Several try to explain behavior of goose
By CATHY MADDUX
Albany Democrat Herald 4/8/93
So just what is that goose up to that appears to be courting the giant Sprayfoam duck on Waverly Lake?
For the past several weeks, the Canada goose has been swimming near the big duck and hisses at anyone who gets too close.
Film crews from KGW-TV in Portland filmed a segment about the duck, and the clip was picked up for NBC's national affiliates, according to Linda La Fleur of the Albany Parks and Recreation Department.
Since the airing on KGW, visitors have been flocking to the lake to see the goose.
Wildlife biologist Neil TenEyck of the state Fish and Wildlife Department at Adair Village said the goose's behavior can be explained scientifically and has nothing to do with love.
TenEyck suspects that the goose is trying to attract a mate so he can begin nesting. He said the goose either has picked out an area to call home on the bank or some place on the duck.
It is also possible that the goose is disoriented. More likely, he said, the goose is defending a possible breeding territory.
If the goose has mated, the gander is standing guard and watching for predators, he said. Most fees in the mid-valley have mated by now.
But the creators of the big duck have other ideas about what the goose is doing. They believe the goose has fallen in love with the wood duck.
Joyce Schwab, manager of Sprayfoam located on Century Drive, said the whole thing is humorous.
"It just proves that decoys work," she said. "The bigger the decoy the better because the birds see the decoys when they are flying overhead."
Schwab said she does not know what it is about the duck that attracts the goose. The duck is fifty years old and made of polyurethane spray foam. Several years ago, Willamette Industries paid to have the duck coated with fiberglass so the bird would not fall apart.
The duck is 13 feet long and 6 feet tall.
"The lady goose is going to be disappointed when her eggs don't hatch this spring," she said. "Nevertheless, she's not going to leave her honey."
Schwab said she is pleased that the goose is remaining by the duck because that might make Graham Frasier of Halsey happy.
The young boy recently wrote the company asking that sprayfoam man Steve Fletcher create five baby ducks for the big duck. Lots of people would like that, the boy said.
It is too expensive to create baby ducks, so the goose will have to do for now, Schwab said.
She estimates that it cost about $5,000 to build the big duck.
Organizer
Raymond Kopczynski
Organizer
Albany, OR
