Duck forgets to duck; breaks window

It was a classic hit and run. But, with a unique twist.

Around 10 a.m. Friday morning, a female mallard duck paid a surprise visit to the UNMC campus.

After getting its bearings, the bird flew away, apparently unhurt.

The bird slammed through a window on the west side of the connector between Wittson Hall and Poynter Hall.

Bonnie Morehead, a financial analyst in the UNMC Department of Psychiatry, was notified by one of her psychiatry colleagues, Robin Peterson, that a bird was trapped in the connector corridor. Peterson called facilities, which in turn notified Omaha’s animal control center.

Morehead went to investigate.

Two employees were about to enter the corridor from the south door. Morehead told them about the duck. One of them found a blanket to put over the frightened bird, which was jumping up on the window sill and trying to get out the window. One of the duck’s feet appeared to be cut and showed spots of blood.

The three employees tried to corner the duck, but when they got close, she took flight and flew out the opening of the broken window and up over the campus buildings.

“There’s glass on both sides of the connector,” Morehead said. “The duck probably felt she could just fly right through. It didn’t work out for her, but I’m glad she wasn’t hurt too badly.”

The unexpected visit caught the attention of many of the psychiatry employees in Poynter Hall.

When asked if the psychiatry department had named their new fine-feathered friend, Steve Wengel, M.D., professor and chair of psychiatry, replied, “No, we didn’t want to get too attached to her.”

George Miedl, who has worked in facilities for 10 years, said he thinks this might be a campus first.

Noting that the broken window pane was ¼-inch thick, he said, “The good news is that nobody got hurt, and the duck flew away. We should have the new window pane within the next couple weeks.”