First World Story

(Alameda County FD via SF Chronicle)

The Alameda County Fire Department rescued two ducklings from a storm drain, a story that wouldn't otherwise be notable except that the firefighters: 1) Played a cellphone YouTube video with mother-duck sounds to lure the ducklings from the pipe; 2) Spent an hour looking for the family so as not to consign them to an uncertain fate with Animal Control. A happy ending resulted:

they checked the Monarch Bay Golf Club and spotted ducks in the distance....When [firefighter Brendan] Burke approached, the duck and her 10 nestlings initially retreated, until one of the lost ducklings let out a chirp. The mother duck corralled the two little ones and the family was happily reunited.

Seven ducks in a box.

Flashback: three years ago at our behest the Foster City Fire Department rescued six ducklings (plus one that came running from the bushes when it heard its siblings) from a storm drain. We watched them overnight, then opened our windows wide in the hope that the mother would hear them. She did.

The green-eyeshade people would say that duck rescue is a waste of taxpayer resources; however, if it were put to a vote I am certain that Bay Area residents would overwhelmingly disagree.