http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/04/08/treasury.duck.ap/index.html

     Secret Service protects expectant duck
     Treasury Secretary pays duck a visit

     WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Secret Service, which has the job of guarding
the president and other dignitaries, now has a new temporary duty --
protecting a mother duck and her nine eggs.

     The duck, a brown mallard with white markings, has had several names
suggested by Treasury Department people, including "Quacks Reform,"
"T-Bill," and "Duck Cheney." It has built a nest in a mulch pile right at
the main entrance to the Treasury Department on Pennsylvania Avenue.

     The Secret Service's uniformed division, which provides protection for
the White House and Treasury building, has set up metal guard rails to
protect the nest, which has attracted the notice of tourists on their way to
see the White House.

     The duck has been provided with a water bowl and seems oblivious to
all the attention, sitting calmly on its nest on top of the mulch pile that
surrounds one of the new trees planted along Pennsylvania Avenue as part of
a renovation project.

     Treasury Secretary John Snow stopped to pay his respects this week on
the way back from a congressional hearing, Treasury spokesman Rob Nichols
said Friday.

     "He had been briefed on the duck and he stopped to pay a visit," said
Nichols.

     The eggs are expected to hatch the last week of April at which time
the duck will be relocated nearer water. But until then, the duck will
occupy some of Washington's prime real estate.

     "Foreign leaders, members of Congress, everybody who visits Treasury
has to pass by the duck," Nichols said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.