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Lil Quacks Refuge., Christchurch (2026)

08/10/2026

Hey wildling fam!

Sometimes we get little prezzies.

People give us chocolates, or wee things, or just something they saw and thought “oh that reminds me of Lil Quacks”

And I think that's really, really sweet.
Last week I got given a little sign that said:
“I like weird people.
The black sheep, the odd ducks, the rejects, the eccentrics, the loners, the lost and forgotten.
More often than not, these people have the most beautiful souls.”

And I was like… well, f**k.
That's actually really cool.
And then today I was at the supermarket and one of the security guards came over to me.

Now I always smile at him when I go through cause I smile at everyone, but, he looks.well he looks Like he's probably dealt with some absolute idiots in his time

So when he came over I was a bit confused thinking… what have I done? And he pulls out this TINY wee purple duck and says it reminded him of me.

Then he says, “I wish it was more.”
And I said, mate, it's the tiniest things.
It really is.
It always has been.

It's not always about the big things. Sometimes it's a chocolate. Sometimes it's a wee duck. Sometimes it's someone saying hi when I'm out. Sometimes it's someone liking something, leaving a comment, sharing a post, donating $5, $10, whatever they can.

Sometimes it's just someone telling me they love what we're doing.

And all of those things mean something.

I don't think people always realise how much the little things actually do for rescues

Like today, that wee purple duck probably cost bu**er all but it made me smile, and I'll probably keep the bloody thing forever.

And that's another reason I feel so bloody blessed.
Because I get to do this.

I get to meet all these amazing wonderful people.

I get people stopping me when I'm out and about saying hi, and then I get another chance to tell them about what we're doing and the animals and how much you lot have helped us.

And honestly, I love that.
So thank you.

To everyone who has donated.
Everyone who sends us things.
Everyone who likes, comments and shares.
Everyone who says hi when you see me out.
Everyone who follows along with our absolute s**tshow

You all support us more than you probably realise.
And I appreciate the F**K out of it.

It's the tiny things, man.
It really is.

And apparently, in my case, sometimes the tiny thing is a purple duck. And I bloody love him.

Anyway, the tiny purple duck is now sitting next to this weird little eggplant house my son gave me for absolutely no reason whatsoever, other than it was ridiculous and apparently made him think of me.
Which, to be fair, is probably a pretty accurate description of me.

So yea gave the little eggplant home to a tiny plastic duck Because ya know...

Every duck that comes through our gates gets a home.
I'm not about to start discriminating just because this one is purple and about the size of my thumb.
So welcome home, little purple fella.

You've got an eggplant house.

Don't get too comfortable though, because knowing my life there'll probably be another bloody duck turning up tomorrow.

So, just, look wildling fam, i appreciate the s**t out of all of you. And are truly blessed thankyou so so much

Remember teamwork makes the dreamwork!

08/10/2026

Hey wildling fam!

Apparently wildlife found out we aren't going out this afternoon.

And took that personally.

Because this morning it apparently held a meeting and decided:

"Right, they're staying home this afternoon."
"QUICK. DEPLOY THE BABIES."

So first we get a call about a little one struggling to keep up with Mum.

We have a look and the poor little bu**er has one leg injured, and the injury is consistent with an eel.

AN EEL.

How the hell this tiny creature escaped an eel, survived whatever happened, and was still out there trying to keep up with Mum is honestly beyond me.

But because apparently surviving an eel wasn't enough character development for one day, he then started getting harassed by some teenagers.

So obviously we got called.

Because apparently we are now the emergency department, parenting service, wildlife ambulance and general "WHAT THE F**K IS THIS" department.

And then, because wildlife clearly thought we were getting cocky, a CCC worker was mowing the lawns and found another tiny baby bird.

Except she had no idea what it was.
So the message was essentially:
"I have a baby bird of some description."

Perfect.
Excellent.
Very helpful.

"Some description" is basically our entire job description at this point.

So now we've got another tiny life needing help, and I'm sitting here wondering what exactly happened to the concept of having a quiet afternoon.

We said we weren't going out.

WILDLIFE SAID THAT WASN'T OUR DECISION TO MAKE.

Honestly, I swear they hear us make plans.

They wait until we've said "we're not going anywhere today" and then somewhere in Canterbury a baby bird falls out of the sky.

Just to keep us humble.

Anyway thankyou ledgends you guys are the best!

As for these two, they both have one hell of a story to tell!

Remember teamwork makes the dreamwork!

07/10/2026

Hey wildling fam!

Oh so boring admin; firstly we have changed our ph no! The ph i had was dying on me and sometime people couldnt get through, so new ph if ya need us.....
0275400465 keeping the old one going for a quick minute while waiting on everyone to catch up.

Also, most of you know I have epilepsy.

Shock horror!
Quick, grab your pearls!
Cry me a river about how there’s absolutely NO WAY we can possibly do what we do because apparently I am a spastic now. Oh no! Whatever will we do?!

And before everyone starts screaming foul because I called myself a spastic yes, I know I called myself a spastic. I’m fully aware. No need to call the offenise word police

Anyway I have been pretty sick the last few weeks so im going to be at the doctor's this avo so we are only able to have intakes from 1.30 till about 5.30

So ya all guna have to play nice be careful on the roads watch ya cats, tell ducks to go back and pick up their dam kids and wildlife ya all need to get in line too, no flying into windows today, no picking fights with things that are bigger and more fighter than you cause ant no one got time for that s**t today

Anyway still available for advice and to drop off to the land ark my son is doing intakes today.

Remember teamwork makes the dreamwork!

07/10/2026

Hey wildling fam!

So this one started with THREE little ducklings down at a reserve.

We had actually been down there the night before because Mum had disappeared, but she eventually came back around and the ducklings were reunited with her, so we left them to it.

Except come morning...
Mum was gone again.
And this time she wasn't coming back.

Evan, who is ALWAYS keeping an eye out for us and somehow manages to spot every bloody animal within a 5km radius, gave us a call to say she still hadn't returned.

So we went down there and with Evans help tried catching them, they decided to hide under the reeds.....
So obviously I went into the reeds.

Quietly.
Very stealthily.
Very predator.

Unfortunately I was apparently TOO stealthy because Brett and Evan couldn't even see me.

They were yelling out asking where I was.
I put my hand up.
They still couldn't see me, the reeds were too high too bush like.

So I moved slightly.

The ducklings immediately went WHAT THE F**K IS THAT and darted out of the reeds again.

Excellent.
Stealth mission: absolutely nailed it......not.
Then we ended up down the creek.

At this point I thought, f**k it, I'm going in.
Brett apparently had the exact same thought because he also went in without even a second thought within seconds of me going in.

And this man, in one giant swoop, managed to get TWO of them in the net.

Meanwhile the third duckling went completely to ground.

Gone.
Vanished.
We searched.
And searched.
And searched.
Nothing.

We stayed for about an hour trying to find the little bu**er.

Still nothing.
Evan eventually hit us with the very practical:
"Two out of three ain't bad."

And honestly... he's not wrong, but I still felt as we do a prang of failer

Then, because apparently this whole situation wasn't chaotic enough, Mum finally came back.

And she was completely uninterested in the fact that her babies had just spent the morning being hunted through reeds and creeks by two soaking wet humans.

She was far more interested in some males bothering her.

So she flew off again.
MOTHER OF THE YEAR.

Anyway this rescue belongs to Brett Stretch Autridge

He followed me straight into that creek without a second thought and got those two babies out.

I'm going to make him into a good Steve Irwin knock-off yet!

The Temu Steve Irwin era is officially underway.

Two ducklings are safe.

One is still the subject of an ongoing investigation.

And Mum is somewhere out there avoiding motherhood and chasing men.

Just another completely normal day at Lil Quacks.

Anyway enjoy this picture of Brett eventually sitting down and tipping the water out of his now completely waterlogged boots because apparently that is just what rescue looks like right now.....and ya know what its hard behind the laughs this is what it looks like.

Also huge shout out to Evan Carston who like many of you, are amazing kaitiaki to wildlife, remember without you there is no us.

Remember teamwork makes the dreamwork

06/10/2026

Hey wildling fam!

Does anyone know anyone that does skips and might be able to give us a good deal?

This is all coming out of our own pockets, so I’m really trying to find someone who can do us a good price.

When we moved in here it was absolutely full of rubbish. I’ve spent so much time cleaning it all up and getting it sorted, while Brett has been doing the lawns and all the building.

We’ve finally got it down to one corner left

We are going to cear it pull down the eyesore pretending to be a shed left there before we moved in

Once we get that cleared, we can make another safe space for the animals, and build some sheds, which is what we are trying to get done

So if anyone knows someone who does skips, or knows someone who might be able to help us out or has a skip with a good price, please let me know.

We are paying for it all ourselves, so anything we can save means more that can go back into the animals

So anyway ask share like comment so we may get to the right people amazing!

One more corner to go!!

Remember teamwork makes the dreamwork!

06/10/2026

Hey wildling fam!

While we were out on a rescue, we saw some river rats.

And straight away my brain went to ducklings because, well... there's a pretty good chance they eat them.

But what got me thinking wasn't the rats themselves.
It was how people generally react to them.

Rats are disgusting.
Rats are pests.
Rats need to be killed.

Then on that same day we saw a beautiful long-haired cat, collar on, clearly loved and someone's very much adored baby.

And that cat almost took a duckling.Suddenly the reaction is different. Because one is a beautiful loved animal and one is a rat. But both were doing exactly what comes naturally to them.

The rat is looking for food.
The cat is looking for food.

Neither one is sitting there thinking about whether what they're doing is morally acceptable. They're just surviving, moving through the world and doing what their instincts tell them to do.

And this isn't a post against cats.
It isn't a post against rats.
And it isn't even a post against pest control.

Sometimes animals need to be managed. Sometimes wildlife needs protecting. Sometimes difficult decisions have to be made.

But maybe even when we have to manage something, we don't have to hate it.

Maybe we can look at the rat and think, f**k, look at how that little thing moves through the waterways and survives.

Look at how clever they are.
Look at how they navigate their environment.

And we can look at the cat and think, beautiful animal... but you're still a predator and that duckling doesn't know the difference between your collar and a hunting instinct.

They're both just animals.
We don't have to like everything they do.
We don't have to stop protecting the animals they're hunting.

But maybe we could find a little respect in watching how they work, how they move, how they live and how they survive, and with that be more humane when it comes to pest control.

Because nature doesn't really care which animal we think is cute.

And neither does hunger.

Remember teamwork makes the dreamwork

06/10/2026

Hey wildling fam!

Last week we had people getting concerned about a juvie swan who was swimming around with one leg stretched right out behind them, so obviously this is a older reacue, im sharing because its educational...

Naturally the concern was that the leg could be broken, because when you see a young swan casually cruising around with one leg sticking out like they’ve been personally offended by having two of them, it does look a bit bloody suspicious.

Our first thought was that it was just normal swan behaviour.

BUT.

We don’t just go “nah they’re probably fine” and carry on with our day.

So we went and had a look.

And then, because apparently swans have decided they’re now enrolled in aquatic yoga, we started taking photos of the other swans doing exactly the same bloody thing.

One leg out.
Stretch.
Float.
Carry on.
Basically synchronised swimming, but nobody told them there was a routine.

See swans really do stretch their legs out like this while swimming, and it can look absolutely alarming if you don’t know they do it.

But, we checked.
We looked properly.
And in this case, everything was okay.

And, this is something I really want people to understand about rescue.

Sometimes we go out because something looks wrong and the outcome is...

“Nope. That swan is just doing yoga.”
And that is a GOOD outcome.

We would much rather go and check something that turns out to be completely normal than have someone see something unusual, assume it’s fine, and leave an animal that actually needed help.

Not every call ends with an animal coming back to Land Ark.

Sometimes the rescue is information.
Sometimes it’s reassurance.

Sometimes it’s discovering that swans apparently have their own little synchronised swimming and stretching club and nobody thought to send us the bloody timetable.

So yes, we check.
And sometimes everything is okay.
Sometimes its a case of watching for a while
That doesn’t make the call unnecessary.

It means someone cared enough to ask. And we cared enough to go have a look.

We are blessed to have people care, and to be able to let them know everything is ok.

Remember teamwork makes the dreamwork.

06/10/2026

Hey Wildling fam,

I’m going to start updating you all on some of the rescues we’ve done over the last week, and I just wanted to say this before I do.

Some of these rescues might not be from today, or yesterday, or even the day before. Some of them we’ve only just got to the point where we can actually sit down and talk about them.

And I think it still matters.
Because sometimes the rescue is heavy.

Sometimes you get the animal home, get everyone fed, medicated, settled, cleaned up and safe, and then you realise you haven’t even told anyone what happened because you’re already onto the next call.

But some of these stories need to be talked about. Not just because they are rescues, but because there are lessons in them. Things people can learn from. Things that might help the next animal before they end up needing us.

And I also want to say something that probably doesn’t get said enough.

We are incredibly blessed to have people supporting us.

Whether you donate, share our posts, drop food off, send a message, tag us when you see an animal that needs help, or simply follow along and care about what happens here we see it.

Sometimes rescue can make you look bloody exhausted, distracted, stressed, or like you’ve forgotten the entire outside world exists.

If a rescue ever seems aloof or unappreciative, please know that is almost never what is actually going on.

We appreciate you. A LOT.
And honestly, this applies to every rescue out there.

There are people behind those pages who are sometimes running on bu**er all sleep, dealing with some pretty heartbreaking s**t, trying to save an animal and somehow remember to answer messages at the same time.

So if you’ve supported us, or supported any rescue, thank you.

We really do mean it.

Now... back to the rescue updates because apparently the last week decided it wanted to be a full bloody season of a television show.

Remember teamwork makes the dreamwork!

05/10/2026

Hey Wildling fam!

We got a call about a mama duck who had lost her babies down a drain.

Because apparently that day we were doing duck plumbing.

So off we went.

We get there and the babies have somehow made their way through the waterways and popped out on the OTHER SIDE OF A ROUNDABOUT.

Because why would you just stay somewhere sensible when you could take the scenic route through a drain and waterways and then cross a bloody roundabout.

Mama duck comes back, so we get the babies back to her and think sweet, that's that.

NOPE.

We then get told there is ONE MORE BABY on the other side of the roundabout.....Of course there f**king is.

So I leg it back to the car to grab the net while Brett keeps eyes on the baby and the finder is watching where mama duck has gone because at this point we're basically running a small-scale duck surveillance operation. Also can I just point out, why do we end up doing rescue when we are older, and less fit? sounding like the crip keeper over here bent over heaving what little breath i could while brett is trying to catch it.....

The little bu**er kept darting away every time we got close.

Left.
Right.
NOPE, I'M OFF AGAIN.

Actually at one point I thought am I guna go swimming for that ducking or????

Brett eventually managed to get it into our net and I reckon all the zip tying we've been doing to the holes in our nets on the way to rescues has finally paid off because this time there was no tiny duckling popping its head through a gap and escaping like Houdini.

We got the last baby and took it back to mama.
And there she was, waiting for it.
Back together.
All the babies with their mama.

And us standing there looking like we'd just completed some highly organised military operation when really we had spent half the time chasing a duckling around a roundabout with a net.

But that's rescue.
Sometimes it's drains.
Sometimes it's waterways.

Sometimes it's running back to the car like your life depends on it because someone has found ANOTHER duckling.

And sometimes it's just making damn sure that tiny little family gets back together.

Another day at Lil Quacks.
Another duckling mission.
Nobody told the ducklings they were supposed to make this easy.

Remember teamwork makes the dreamwork!

05/10/2026

Hey wildling fam!

BRUCE HAS FRIENDS.

We finally let Bruce meet his new friends and apparently Bruce has decided he is now the official tour guide of this f**king circus.

Did he show them the pretty trees? The nice garden? The scenic bits?

NO.

Bruce immediately marched them around to every broken, half-finished, questionable and mildly concerning thing on the property.

“Welcome to my home, lads. This is the fence we’ve been meaning to fix since approximately the Bronze Age. Over here is a gate that technically closes, provided the wind is blowing in the correct direction. This is the shed that’s currently being held together by optimism. And over there is a pile of materials that has been waiting for someone to do something with it since before you were born.”

He was basically giving them the Fu**ed S**t Walking Tour 2026™.

Not one pretty tree was acknowledged. Not one flower. Just “COME THIS WAY, LET ME SHOW YOU EVERYTHING THAT’S F**KED.”

Honestly, I think he wanted them to understand the culture before they committed to living here.

“We don’t do perfection here, boys. We do repairs eventually, questionable decisions immediately, and if something falls over we simply call it rustic.”

By the end of the tour his new friends probably thought they’d accidentally joined a bird run construction site with no qualified tradespeople.

And Bruce? Absolutely delighted. Strutting around like the foreman of a building company that has never actually completed a project.

Welcome home, boys. Please ignore the entire maintenance list. It’s been there longer than some of us.

And while Bruce is busy showing his new mates around all the s**t that needs fixing, we are still trying to actually fix the s**t. Land Ark is completely self-funded, so every fence, enclosure, bit of building material, bag of feed and piece of equipment comes out of donations or our own pockets.

There is always something needing doing here and right now that maintenance list is looking more like a f**king novel. If you can spare anything at all, whether it’s a donation, materials, feed or something sitting around that could be useful here, it genuinely helps us keep this place running and give these animals the safe space they deserve. We appreciate every single person who helps us keep this chaotic little ark afloat.

Remember teamwork makes the dreamwork!

Lil Quacks Refuge.

08/10/2026

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