Soft Landings Waterfowl Rescue, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit corporation dedicated to the rescue and placement of abandoned domestic waterfowl and the care and sanctuary of special needs domestic waterfowl. Founded in 2007 as Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary, Melanie and Mark Simmonds took over the rescue operation and changed the name to Soft Landings in 2019.

Springtime is always busy as many people impulse purchase ducks at the farm store and do not realize their care needs until it’s too late. These ducks are often left on a body of water in a local park or neighborhood. Often residents will keep them fed and enjoy watching them when they are at the park, yet they do not realize the problems these pets will face in the wild. Domestic ducks have been bred to be nearly three times the size of wild ducks. This means that they are much slower and also that they cannot fly. As pets or on a farm, they are cared for in an environment where flight is not necessary, and they are not migratory birds. However, in the wild they become literally sitting ducks.

So what can you do to help the ducks? First of all, if you see someone dropping off ducks at a park find a local rescue or contact Soft Landings and we will connect you to a local rescuer. If you notice ducklings without feathers alone or approaching people, please do not leave them as they are very vulnerable. You can organize a waterway cleanup or pick up fishing line when you find it.

Most of the ducks that we rescue are males with some sort of injury or deformity already present. We also handle calls from people who have ducklings that they purchased or hatched that have some sort of special need such as blindness. We assist in their care and try to keep them with their family, but if the family cannot provide care we also will take them into our sanctuary when we have space. Domestic ducks can live 12 to 15 years in a protected environment. Their average lifespan is 8 years or more. Therefore, space is always an issue because we can only care for so many special needs at one time. When ducks are rescued and rehabilitated we  place them in safe, forever homes with predator proof enclosures as soon as possible.

If you have a local rescue, contact them and ask if they need volunteers or supplies. Rescues love donations of many items both purchased and repurposed. I’ve never met a rescue that doesn’t need volunteers. If there is not a local rescue, there is still a need by many rescues for artists to create designs for merchandise and promotional material, help with social media and data entry, and generally spreading the word Don’t Dump Ducks!

Our rescue is 100% volunteer supported.  All our volunteers have full-time professional jobs.  We are always happy to welcome additional volunteers.