The great duck escape: How a feathered family has made a prison yard its home

By all accounts there have been very few — if any — instances where someone wanted to break in to Her Majesty's Penitentiary throughout its 125-year history on the banks of Quidi Vidi Lake.

But one duck named Daisy has liked it so much she keeps coming back year after year to lay eggs before making her great escape with her ducklings in tow.

Correctional officers Janet O'Neill and Valerie Galloway have followed Daisy's journey from beginning to end — a bright spot in a dreary prison environment.

"It was pretty cool actually. There are inmates out on the premises and they'd constantly ask, 'How's Daisy doing?'" Galloway told CBC on Wednesday.

"Everybody was kind of involved and making sure she was safe and she was fed."

A high concrete prison wall separates the yard of HMP from the lake that's always flourishing with ducks and other birds.

O'Neill said it's not uncommon for birds to visit the quiet grounds of the prison, but Daisy seems to have found the best spot for laying eggs, away from the hustle and bustle of the lake.

"She has found, for the second year in a row, the same little nesting spot tucked away underneath some bushes that we have," O'Neill said. "So it keeps her pretty safe from the birds and from the crows."

When the correctional officers don't keep an eye on her, two male ducks do, bringing her food and standing watch.

Leaving the nest

On the day Daisy and her four ducklings were ready to leave the nest, the correctional officers were waiting.

"We were all on guard waiting for her to leave the nest because we knew once she left she couldn't get back up," Galloway said.

"Some of us worked through our lunches so we could follow her up through the prison to make sure she had a safe journey because it is quite a bit of a walk for tiny ducklings with tiny legs."

The previous year, the correctional officers opened the door of the prison to let her out but this year she decided to find her own way and shimmy through a tiny hole until the chain link fence.

Video shows the mama duck waddling down the green grass to the background sounds of metal clanging and a muffled speaker overhead. They're followed as they make the slow and steady journey back to the lake. 

Although many ducks look the same, O'Neill said they're pretty certain there is only one Daisy returning to the same hidden nest. 

And it seems she liked it so much, she may have come back already.

"She … we assume it's Daisy … is back with the two males hanging out in the yard again," Galloway laughed.

"We are anticipating there will be more babies soon," O'Neill added.

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