Baby Ducklings Born In Jail Set Free: Video

RIVERHEAD, NY — It was a happy day for "jail birds," a mother duck and her 15 baby ducklings, who were sprung from the Riverhead Correctional Facility Tuesday.

For several years, the same female duck has flown into a courtyard at the Riverhead Correctional Facility to lay her eggs — and she was back for the third year this year, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon's office said.

“Working inside the jail can be a stressful environment for staff, so these annual visits are a lighthearted diversion for everyone," Toulon said. "It’s a nice way to kick off the summer.”

The eggs hatched in early June and the mother duck and her ducklings were treated to a regular diet of corn meal, visits from jail staff, and plenty of swim time in the courtyard's fish pond, the Sheriff's office said.

On Tuesday, the mom and her ducklings were loaded into boxes in the courtyard area of the Riverhead jail, placed into a sheriff's vehicle, transported to a nearby area along the Peconic River, and released into the wild.

It was a heartwarming moment as jail staffers said good-bye to their tiny charges, urging the babies out of the boxes and into the water to catch up with their mama.