Nothing tugs at the heart strings like baby animals. Which is
why a group of locals endeavored all afternoon to rescue a clan of
ducklings after the chirping youngsters were discovered trapped in
a storm drain. Full article
Today’s breaking news:
Three Hollister shootings over the weekend
Web gallery: Easter events in Gilroy
Child rapist gets life in prison
A virtual car lot at your fingertips
Nothing tugs at the heart strings like baby animals.
Which is why a group of locals endeavored all afternoon to rescue a clan of ducklings after the chirping youngsters were discovered trapped in a storm drain Thursday afternoon near Luigi Aprea Elementary School at 9225 Calle Del Rey.
The ensuing effort to extract the downy balls of fluff and reunite them with their mother was a five-hour ordeal.
“They had fallen into several pipes and ducks were running all over the place trying to find their mom,” recalled Jon Braga, who got involved in the action when he came to Luigi to pick up his son Leonard Braga from school early.
Marcia Davis, who also lives in the area, said she was leaving for work around 11:30 a.m. when her 3-year-old son spotted the distressed mama duck from their window. Davis eventually teamed up with Braga and his wife, Livia Braga, in the rescue effort.
Trying to pinpoint distressed ducklings in a maze of underground pipes and shoo them to safety, however, was a comically difficult task – heightened by busy foot and car traffic after school got out for the day.
Davis said the effort lasted until 5 p.m. or so.
Seven ducklings were eventually recovered, she said. The task involved removing the lid on a storm drain and collecting all the babies in a pet carrier.
“Then we realized there was another duck in the storm drain,” said Davis. “One straggler. We called him the rebel.”
The rebel was also rescued, bringing the total count up to eight.
Reuniting the flustered mother with her brood presented an entirely separate challenge that took at least 20 attempts according to Davis, who said at one point the mom flew away.
“She didn’t come back for awhile.”
When the entire feathered family was finally captured and corralled to safety, the ducks had a chance to debrief, unwind and play in a pool set up in Braga’s garage on Watsonville Road.
“We had to get the mom,” noted Jon, who set up a video camera in the garage Thursday evening so he could periodically check on their web-footed guests. “If we didn’t get the mom, their chance of survival would have been greatly diminished.”
On Friday evening the ducks were taken to a small pond connecting to a creek near Gilroy Gardens, a spot the Bragas felt was safe and more isolated from urban infrastructure.
“We were very sad to see them leave,” said Jon. “The mother was very cautious before she lead her babies into the water. They swam for about 10 minutes before she lead them down the stream and then out into the brush where they had more protection from predators.”
The Bragas later returned to the area hoping to see the family again, but did not have any luck.
“I’ve been crying since, wishing I could see them again,” wrote Livia in an email Monday.
“Our hearts are mixed with emotion,” wrote Braga in another follow-up email. “We are happy to have helped them but sad to not be able to see them again.”
