Ducklings stuck in SOMS courtyard.

Last year a family of ducklings were hatched in our enclosed courtyard.   We tried to lead them through the school, out to the pond but the mother duck freaked out when she got in the school and frightened the ducklings so much they refused to leave.  The mother never returned, and some of the babies were eaten by vultures.    We eventually were able to scoop some of them up and bring them to the pond. But none of us felt like this was a successful way of handling this at all.  

Apparently this mother has returned - or perhaps another mother.  We have a freshly hatched group of ducklings in our courtyard and would love advice as to how to transport them out of the courtyard without traumatizing (and potentially injuring) any of the ducks.  

Or if there is a duck whisperer out there, please consider this to be an invitation to come on over and help us.....just let me know what would work in terms of timing. 

-Alison

Try calling SO Animal Control. If she can't help you, I'm sure she'll know someone who can. Good luck and thanks for doing this.

Get in touch with the wonderful Woodlands Wildlife Refuge:  http://www.woodlandswildlife.o...

Or one of the orgs mentioned in the recent injured squirrel thread.  The Raptor Center also will help with any bird related issue.

Just saw something about a similar situation, but I can't recall where. A pair of ducks had hatched their eggs on a rooftop, and the babies couldn't fly. A wildlife rehabilitator used a dog travel crate to contain the baby birds and then slowly walked through the building with the crate. The parents followed the crate into the elevator, through the lobby and across several streets until they reached a pond, where he opened the crate. The story made the point that the rehabilitator moved very slowly and quietly and didn't alarm the parents unnecessarily. The peeping of the babies signaled the parents to follow the crate to a safe location. 

An elementary school in our town has a similar duck/courtyard situation that comes up most years.  I think they use cardboard to form a corridor that directs the ducks to an exit.  Good luck!

(also, I seem to remember this coming up years ago at SOMS.  Would any of the school staff remember how it was handled?  Teachers?  Maintenance?)

Some years ago I called out SOFD to rescue a couple of ducklings that had fallen into a storm drain in front of my house. The mother duck was frantically pacing and quacking in the street. Once they were free, the mom led them down the street towards the river. But they needed to cross a busy street, so we scooped the ducklings into a cardboard box and carried them with mom following. 

Based on this experience, I think if you contain the ducklings but mom can still hear them peeping, she will stay nearby and will follow you if you carry them down to the river.