When working on my Rubber Ducky series, I expect to sacrifice a few of the little dudes in the process, it's part of their job and I don't care to risk it all just to save them from their fate. So I was not at all surprised when I lost Ducky #1 to the river one afternoon last year, but I did not expect the tragedy to unfold quite how it did.  

I showed up at the weir on Calgary's Bow River, a great spot for watching seagulls and other birds. I had been there before and knew that the seagulls liked to hang out at a particular portion of the bank, my plan was to set up Rubber Ducky and retreat a short distance away and wait for the gulls to return.  The gulls must have gotten my memo because it wasn't long before they returned and I was able to start snapping photos. 

What I expected to have happen to ducky was that a bird would inadvertently bump the little dude off the bank and into the river. Like they don't know how to control their tail feathers, but that's not what happened at all. I should have known better.  

A bit of time had passed and the majority of the gulls had moved down the river a bit, but one conniving gull remained and sidled up beside wee inanimate ducky. I could tell by the way the bird kept slowly side stepping towards ducky, that the gull was up to something.

Before I knew it, the gull had very deliberately and precisely flipped ducky on it's side and then kicked him into the river, like booting rubber duckies into a watery grave was just all in a day's work.  I know, you totally don't believe me do you? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words, though I have to apologize for their poor state. The photos I managed to capture of the murder itself are blurry to the point of being unsalvageable.  I was laughing so hard I could barely sit upright, let alone operate my camera.