“We noticed a mystery swimmer …”
The other day in Central Oregon, photographer Deena Rounds captured a scene straight out of a countryside postcard. On her neighbor’s pond, a small group of ducks paddled about, enjoying one of their very first swims. But on closer inspection, one swimmer seemed… different.
“A long neck, a stretched back, and some unusual strokes,” Rounds wrote. The “mystery guest” turned out to be Daisy — a young emu.
A few months earlier, Rounds’ neighbor, Kasey Nothiger, had welcomed the then-2-week-old bird to her farm, Firefly Fields Northwest, where three older emus already lived. But because Daisy was so much smaller than her full-grown counterparts, Nothiger decided to keep her separate for safety until she grew.
That separation, however, left Daisy lonely and unsettled.
“I had to think fast,” Nothiger told The Dodo. She decided to introduce Daisy to five baby ducks. The change was instant: Daisy relaxed, curling up to sleep beside her new companions. From then on, she saw herself as part of their little flock.
As the weeks passed, both Daisy and her feathered friends grew — and eventually they were allowed to explore outside together. Naturally, the ducks made straight for the pond.
“The ducks were already swimming when I heard this loud squawking,” Nothiger recalled. “Daisy was standing at the edge, clearly too nervous to get in.”
With a little reassurance, Daisy decided to give it a try.
“When I went to check, she was fully in the water, paddling happily alongside them,” Nothiger said. “My heart just melted. It was the sweetest thing.”
Although emus do swim from time to time, Daisy looked completely at ease among the ducks, gliding around as though she had always been one of them. The older emus at Firefly Fields might not grasp Daisy’s duck-like behavior, but she’s content to chart her own path with her chosen family.
“Even the ducks that didn’t grow up with her accepted her right away,” Nothiger said. “Now, they’re all one big, happy family.”