Have you found any brightly coloured plastic ducks in random places recently?
Hundreds – and possibly thousands of them – are believed to be dotted around Guernsey.
The ‘CM Ducks’ can be identified by a numbered tag, explaining what they are, and you can follow their journey and take part in it through a Facebook group.
The initiative was created to help a mum and her young daughter share some special memories together after mum was diagnosed with cancer.
Bex is still undergoing treatment and shares updates on her health and her journey through the Facebook page dedicated to the CM Ducks.
CM is Chloe Mae – who was around three years old when she and her mum started planting the brightly coloured small plastic ducks in places for other people to find in late 2024.
“It started initially as just Bex and Chloe Mae taking out a couple of these pink rubber ducks that had the breast cancer ribbon on them with a little label, and hiding them locally,” explained Laura Jayne, who now works on the project with them.
“It was just about doing something fun together, making memories, and she thought it would be a bit of fun for people to find them and then put post them and take them on adventures. So that was how it started initially.”
The idea grew wings from there, with the ducks multiplying in number as more people became aware of them.
“People were finding them and reposting them,” said Laura Jayne. “The first ones were hidden at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. It’s one of their favourite places to go, and the ducks were hidden there, and people were finding them and reposting them and everything. Family and friends were taking loads out, and there were a few, 100 probably at that point, that we would take out.
“Everyone would know them (Bex and Chloe Mae) personally, and they would be taking some ducks out and posting on the (Facebook) page. And then, I don’t know what changed, but she started then sending them out to other people.
“People could request a free ducky, and she would send one that, and it just grew from there, really.”
Laura Jayne said Bex and Chloe Mae and her grandparents remain closely involved with the CM Ducks, continuing to build their memories together.
“It became a bit of a fun thing for them to do as a family, putting the boxes together,” she said. “We’ve helped with it too and it’s a bit of a production line putting the numbers on the tags, laminating the tags, putting the tags on the ducks, and it’s changed over time.
“She’s been putting in things like breast cancer pens and wristbands and all sorts. And then each box had a leaflet about how to check yourself.
“Bex was keen on making memories mainly, and spreading awareness as well. So giving people the leaflets about how to check themselves is part of that. And she said, if it means one person finds something and knows what to do and goes to the doctor and it’s caught early, then that’s worth it.”
As the number of ducks taking flight grew, people in Guernsey started finding and hiding the ducks.
They have been to the dentist, to Victoria Park to watch Guernsey FC play, to the beach at Grandes Rocques, out for lunch to Vraic, on day trips to Herm and Jethou, and some have even travelled to Florence, New Zealand, and Australia with families from here going on holiday.
A duck-themed wedding is even in the planning.
Poignantly Bex and Chloe Mae have links with Guernsey themselves.
Bex used to come to the island on holiday with her mum and dad, and Chloe Mae has visited too.
“They’ve got a lot of good memories as a family of Guernsey,” said Laura Jayne.
“Bex and her mum and dad and her brother as a family used to go every year from when Bex was a baby to being 18, and they’ve taken Chloe Mae a few times already.
“In June 2025 they took 200 numbered ducks to Guernsey so there will be quite a few on there, I think. But yes, they’ve got a lot of good memories there and I think they’ve had a lot of good holidays on Guernsey.”
With tens of thousands of CM Ducks now in circulation, the initiative shows no signs of easing up.
Laura Jayne said this means it has been a success in helping Bex and Chloe Mae build lasting memories together.
“The idea would be that Chloe Mae has the Facebook page when she’s older, when Bex is probably, sadly, no longer here, and we’ll be able to see all the adventures,” she said.
“It just kind of carried on and carried on, and there’s now, I want to say at least 25,000 ducks out there, or it might be nearer to 30,000 now.”
Missing duck
CM Duck number 10003 sparked Express‘ interest when a tag was found with no duck in sight.
If you have a duck without a tag, and if you may have lost that tag near the Red Lion please let us know!
