Dozens of plastic ducks are appearing on fences across the north-east in an effort to raise awareness of a Buchan animal charity.
The yellow toys have been spotted throughout Fraserburgh and nearby villages over the past month.
And now supporters of Willows animal sanctuary near Strichen are being urged to get behind the friendly invasion and do their bit to keep the centre afloat.
The ducks are on sale at R&S Dyga in Fraserburgh’s Broad Street in return for a £1 donation to Willows.
Adopters will be given instructions to name their birds and release them “into the wild”, then take a picture of the location for a special Facebook page.
The fundraising drive is the idea of Mike Chandler, the chairman of Fraserburgh’s tourism group.
He set up a social media campaign after a number of the bath time toys appeared at sites across the north-east.
When he saw how popular the Save Fraserburgh’s Yellow Ducks Facebook page was, he decided the interest could be used to generate support for Willows.
The page now has more than 340 “likes” and reaches an audience of almost 4,000 with each new sighting.
Last night, Mr Chandler said: “Nobody knows how it started, but it makes people smile, and hopefully a lot of people will come up and look at these ducks – even if it’s just for a day trip.
“We’ve sold nearly 100 and I imagine we’re going to sell out of ducks to raise money for Willows.”
Any ducks which have not been sold by next weekend will be available to purchase from the tourism group’s stall at the next Super Saturday on May 9.
Willows Animal Sanctuary, on the B9093 New Pitsligo to Strichen road, cares for almost 100 farm animals, including horses, cats and dogs which would otherwise face slaughter.
A registered charity, it also runs an animal-assisted therapy programme, working with vulnerable people.
The centre is open to visitors from Thursday-Monday from April to the end of October.
Call 01771 653112 for information.