News Photo by Julie Riddle A gang of dilly-dallying ducks makes motorists wait as they mosey down River Street in downtown Alpena.

ALPENA — On the serpentine curves of River Street, just north of downtown Alpena, a car slows to a stop. It toots its horn and inches forward.

Unimpressed, 50-some ducks pad their way across the street, flinging an occasional quack at the patiently waiting motorist.

It’s a daily occurrence on the stretch of road just north of North 7th Avenue, where the Boys and Girls Club of Alpena and Rotary Island Mill Park stand sentry along the Thunder Bay River.

Twice daily, actually, according to neighborhood resident Deb Spleet.

The ducks have been waddling their way down River Street for about a decade, Spleet reported. Several times a day, a flock of short-necked, web-footed, happy wanderers goes for a stroll, often down the middle of the street, eventually making its way back to nests and cozy spots along the river’s edge.

“They’ve sort of staked their claim,” Spleet said.

A regular sight for those who frequent the area, the ducks elicit smiles from many passersby, most of whom are willing to enjoy the moment’s connection with nature as they pause in their drive to let the ducks pass by.

Spleet’s dog and the neighborhood cats don’t pay much mind to the ducks, accustomed to their presence in a gentle neighborhood where neighbors check on each other’s health and get together on pleasant summer days.

“We just all live in harmony out here,” Spleet said.

Yellow bills always ready for a snack, the ducks are regular raiders of the seed and corn she puts out for squirrels and songbirds.

“Hey, man. It’s nature,” Spleet said with a shrug. “I have invaded their space, have I not?”

Other forms of nature help themselves to Spleet’s yard, as well. Deer occasionally hop over her back yard fence and nap in her flower beds. Her side yard has been host to an eight-point buck, dozing under a tree.

From her backyard swing overlooking the river, Spleet watches a feathered procession of cranes, cormorants, egrets, and herons. Ground and water replete with toads, wayward turtles, and stuffed-cheek chipmunks.

The burst of animal life is not unique to River Street.

“I think people would be amazed how much wildlife is in the city of Alpena,” Spleet said.

Most people notice birds and squirrels. But think of the skunks, Spleet said with a twitch of her nose, and the possums and deer that flit through our yards in the night, tangenting our lives unseen.

When you grow up here, Spleet said, it can be hard to notice the life around you. You’re too close to the forest to see the trees.

“But, when someone says, ‘Really? Do you realize what you’ve got here? Do you know what this river has to offer?,’ you kind of get a different perspective,” Spleet said. “And you kind of take a walk and you look at the little tadpoles in the spring and the frogs and the toads and the turtles.”

With a sassy tail wiggle, the feathered residents of River Street flat-foot their way down the pavement, slowing traffic, a reminder that, once in a while, in the middle of the daily rush, a body has to pause, wait a moment, and watch the ducks.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.