Mother Duck's Annual Waddle Through School Delights Everyone: Watch

• Get Patch’s daily newsletter and real-time news alerts.

HARTLAND, MI – A sure sign that it’s spring in southeast Michigan:

Just as she has every year for more than a decade, a female duck the kids at Village Elementary School in Hartland have named Vanessa, led her brood of ducklings through the school halls to a nearby pond.

The hen took up residence in the center courtyard of the elementary school 13 years ago. Students were “awestruck” when the first clutch of eggs hatched and their now-retired teacher Ruth Darrah quickly familiarized herself with their survival needs, school principal William Cain told ABC News.

“She found they needed to be in water within 24 to 48 hours so she made a path through the hallways,” Cain said. "We make sure it’s clear for them."

Ducks are known for returning to the same nesting place every year and after some hesitation, a once “leery” Vanessa is now accustomed to walking through the school, across the playground and to their wetlands home, Cain said.

“This time,” Cain said of Thursday’s crossing through the school, “I don’t think it took more than two or three minutes to get out.

“It’s just like she knows how now.”

This year, Vanessa was waiting for the school door to be unlocked. The students and staff prepare for the annual waddle by blocking halls with black construction paper to create a clear path, and students stay clear of the path so they don’t frighten her.

“It’s so unusual, but everyone gets so invested in this duck because how cool is it that she comes back each and every year,” parent Elizabeth Krause, who has been on hand for past duck waddles, told The Livingston Daily.

“She has it down by now, after 13 years,” Darrah, who is retired now but returns to the school for the promenade every year, told the newspaper.

You Might Also Like

• Cat Mothers Dog in Sweetest Video Ever: Watch
• Terminally Ill Dog Buddy Checks Last Item from 'Bucket List'
• World's Largest Penguin Playground Opens In Detroit
• Sibling Rivalry: Michigan Eaglet Knocks the Other Out in Adorable Fashion
• Dog's Long Journey from Florida to Michigan Has Happy Ending

Vanessa and her ducklings are favorites among almost anyone. Great care is taken not to disturb the nest before the youngsters make their pilgrimage to water.

“... Even the maintenance (staff) will go, ‘Can we cut the grass in the courtyard, or is the duck there?” Cain told The Livingston Daily. “I told them, ‘No you have to wait until the duck is out of there.”

Image and video credit: The Livingston Daily