Wrong forum.
Also, as someone that walked twice daily along a set of canals for 4 years that home to a great deal of waterfowl, I can also say this isn't a fact, either. I've seen ducks and other birds reverse in the water simply by back-pedalling their feet. It seems that this is a particularly ineffective mode of locomotion for them so they'll generally turn around instead but they are definitely capable of it.
