Courthouse workers rescue ducklings

The federal courthouse in Central Islip seems to be going to the birds.

Last week, there was the tale of the building's resident peregrine falcons, which drove away pigeons soiling the building's ledges and hatched at least two babies from atop the entrance rotunda.

Thursday, the court staff rescued six ducklings that had fallen into a deep storm drain in front of the building.

A mother duck was leading her ducklings on the roadway at 12:45 p.m. when she hopped up onto the adjoining sidewalk, according to officials.

The ducklings weren't strong enough to follow, and after a futile effort, they continued down the roadway, and "one, two, three, four, five, six, just like that, disappeared into the drain, and the mother duck began squawking wildly," according to a court officer.

The maintenance staff was called and a fork lift was used to remove the storm drain cover and rescue the ducklings, officials said. Mother and babies were taken to a nearby pond, said Tony Gargiulo, a supervisor for Corporate Source, which provides maintenance. All but one duckling seemed healthy, he said.