Shuswap Lodge residents and staff think the retirement facility鈥檚 newest occupant鈥檚 are just ducky.

In late March, a mother duck began building her nest in a gardened area of Shuswap Lodge鈥檚 swimming pool courtyard.

Since then, staff and residents have been watching and waiting. They were rewarded on Wednesday, May 3, when the mother duck gave birth to 13 ducklings.

鈥淥n Wednesday, I started noticing little eggshells around the nest, so that鈥檚 how we knew they had hatched,鈥� said Shuswap Lodge recreation director Dani Hickmen.

With the rainy weather, the mother duck and ducklings stayed huddled together in the nest for the remainder of the day. With Thursday鈥檚 sun, the new family eventually found their way to the winterized pool, where the chlorine had long since dissipated and floating bugs made for good eating.

While getting into the pool was easy, getting out was a challenge.

鈥淭hey couldn鈥檛 get out because the stairs were too steep,鈥� said Hickman. 鈥淪o I found this carpet underlay in one of the storage closets and we put a little board underneath. It took them a couple of tries to get all the ducklings out.鈥�

Hickman said this is the second year a mother duck has had its ducklings at the pool.

鈥淎pparently, as they鈥檙e getting more used to people鈥� it鈥檚 quite common for them to pick enclosed courtyards for brooding their nest,鈥� said Hickman, 鈥淎nd they also like to nest on balconies, planters and on rooftop terraces.鈥�

In approximately two week鈥檚 time, Shuswap Lodge staff will be assisting the ducks across the highway to Shuswap Lake.