5 Ducklings Saved From Drain By Team Of Rescuers

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — The saying "it takes a village" couldn't have been more true on Memorial Day as a team of rescuers came together to save five ducklings trapped in a storm drain in Riverside.

According to Southampton Town Police, the save took place at 1:15 p.m. when a call came in about the ducklings, who were stuck in a drain on New York State Rt. 24 in Riverside.

Southampton Town Police, the Riverhead Fire Department, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center responded to assist in "getting the ducklings back to Mom, who watched over the entire rescue," police said.

(Video courtesy Jackie Roche)

It took about an hour to free all five ducklings from the drain and return them safe and unharmed to their mama, "who was very impatiently waiting her children's return," police said.

According to Jackie Roche, a wildlife rescuer with the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, a good Samaritan named Michelle Scott-Schwarz first found the mama duck and made a call about the trapped ducklings.

Other rescuers from the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center that responded included Joe Rocco and Doree Cohen — as well as DEC Officer Aric Boyes, Roche said.

"It was an awesome feeling to see everyone working together to get these 6 ducklings reunited with their mama," said Roche.