diff --git a/ibis/backends/duckdb/__init__.py b/ibis/backends/duckdb/__init__.py
index 1f0b39fe16d1..0a1f05212eed 100644
--- a/ibis/backends/duckdb/__init__.py
+++ b/ibis/backends/duckdb/__init__.py
@@ -939,9 +939,8 @@ def read_delta(
 
         delta_table = DeltaTable(source_table, **kwargs)
 
-        return self.read_in_memory(
-            delta_table.to_pyarrow_dataset(), table_name=table_name
-        )
+        self.con.register(table_name, delta_table.to_pyarrow_dataset())
+        return self.table(table_name)
 
     def list_tables(
         self,