Image via the Architect of the Capitol.

Because not everything sucks, the office of the Architect of the Capitol installed ramps at the Capitol Reflecting Pool to make it easier for ducks to get in and out of the water.

Before, mallards had trouble scaling the “broad gently sloped limestone coping of the pool,” the Architect of the Capitol says in a blog post announcing the change. Indeed, curbs down by the Mall often challenge ducklings who struggle to hop over them.

The ramps were a collaboration between the Architect of the Capitol and non-profit City Wildlife, and they were designed used a charette process. After their construction, the ramps were installed on Monday. It’s just another example of Washingtonians going out of their way to make ducks’ lives better.

“The ducks have an uncanny ability to locate a way out of the water, if one is provided,” Anne Lewis, City Wildlife president, said in the blog post. “We can never truly predict their behavior, but our goal is to provide them the means to get in and out of the water, which is what they need to do in the wild to protect their duckling from becoming waterlogged or cold. The rest is up to them, but they do have a strong survival instinct especially when there are ducklings involved.”

According to the Architect of the Capitol, four families of Mallard ducks (known as broods) live at the Capitol Reflecting Pool, and migrating ducks use the water as a rest stop in the spring and fall.

Update: Ducks are already using the ramps!

Filed Under: Capitol Reflecting Pool, duck, ducklings, ducks, meanwhile on capitol hill,