Sinan Sagla, 28, had spotted soil from his plant pot all over the balcony tiles, but assumed pigeons had been pecking at it.
A man was left shell-shocked after he discovered a duck had nested in a flower pot on his SIXTH FLOOR city centre balcony and was brooding over nine eggs.
Sinan Sagla, 28, had spotted soil from his plant pot all over the balcony tiles, but assumed pigeons had been pecking at it.
But days later Sinan spotted the daring mother duck sitting on a clutch of nine eggs.
Sinan sought advice from local wildlife agencies Sinan and is currently awaiting the arrival of the ducklings.
He began documenting the ongoing saga of his new lodger and the mother duck is getting more used to him as the days go by.
Sinan, from Berlin, Germany, said:
“I already noticed soil from my planters all over the balcony. I never connected this to a nest though.
“I just thought some pigeons or so might have looked for something to eat. It just never occurred to me that a bird might be nesting there – let alone a duck!
“So when I saw that duck sitting on my balcony I was really surprised.
“I contacted a local wildlife group (NABU Wildvogelstation Berlin) for help. They gave me some tips and told me to contact them again when they hatch, so they can re-home them.
“The mother duck is gradually getting used to me more and more. I can easily go on the balcony, sit there, have lunch or read a book, listen to music.
“She’s cool with all of it. She only gets stressed when you’re getting closer than 30-40cm, so I try to avoid that.
“I try not to intervene with nature. I don’t really feed her. I just gave her some water. One time I had to scare away some crows that were harassing her.”
Sinan has now gone full protective parent and is making the balcony duckling-proof to ensure the little chicks cannot fall off.
He added:
“After hatching, the mother will fly down and call for the ducklings, and they will follow and jump down.
“In nature, this would happen from heights they can survive, when falling on grass. But in a city, jumping from a balcony onto concrete – this is very dangerous for them.
“So as soon as they start hatching, I will call the wildlife group and they will send their duck taxi to catch the mother and the ducklings and transport them to the safety of a lake.
“I just want the mother and her babies to be safe.”