Releasing animals

Probably one of the best parts of working at Paws Wildlife is getting to release animals back to the wild. Last week I released 2 crows and 6 ducks. Our naturalist considers a plethora of factors and chooses them a perfect release site, then we take them out and set them free. The crows had been antsy the whole drive down to their park, and as usual with birds when I opened the box they immediately flew out and were gone.
Then I drove the 6 ducks down to their park, which had a nice big pond in it. I set the crate about 10 feet from the pond and opened up the door... And noone left. So I rattled the crate a little, tilted it up, still no movement. I then just stepped back and waite, and first one guy walked out tentatively, then the other 5 all followed a little more bravely. The 6 made of a bee-line to the pond, and jumped right in.

Here is a picture I snapped of them just after they got into the water in their new home: