Talks Like a Duck

Readers may recall how the Pioneer Park Aviary in Walla Walla run by Waits­burg's Joanna Lanning lost its beloved spokes duck Shelley to river otters who made their way into the up­per net pond on July 4. On Valentine's Day, the aviary received a special delivery of a four-year-old Paradise Shelduck (same species as Shelley) from Mt. Vernon, Missouri, whom aviary staff promptly named She­lia. The newly donated bird exhibits many of the same mannerisms as Shelley, whose kind hails from New Zealand.