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 the pigeons soiling the building’s ledges and hatched at least two babies from a nest atop the entrance rotunda.

Yesterday, the court staff rescued six duckling that had fallen into a deep storm drain on the front roadway 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 watching the procession from a security booth, officials said.

The security officer called a supervisor who called the building’s maintenance department.

The maintenance staff used a fork lift to remove the storm drain cover, lowered themselves into the drain, and netted the ducklings, officials said.

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Mother and babies were taken to the pond near the federal courthouse, according to Tony Gargiulo, a supervisor for Corporate Source, which provides maintenance for the courthouse.
All but one of the ducklings seemed healthy, Gargiulo said.