Duck story from San Antonio

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FW: Duck story from San Antonio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A True Duck Story

from San Antonio , Texas

 

 

Something

really cute happened in downtown San Antonio

this week. Michael R. is an accounting clerk at

 

 

Frost Bank and works there in a

second story office. Several weeks ago, he watched a mother duck

choose

 

 

the concrete awning outside his

window as the unlikely place to build a nest above the sidewalk. The

mallard

 

 

laid ten eggs in a nest in the

corner of the planter that is perched over 10 feet in the air. She

dutifully kept the

 

 

eggs warm for weeks, and Monday

afternoon all of her ten ducklings hatched.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael

worried all night how the momma duck was going to get those babies

safely off their perch in a busy,

 

 

downtown,

urban environment to take to water, which typically happens in the

first 48 hours of a duck hatching.

 

 

Tuesday

morning, Michael watched the mother duck encourage her babies to the

edge of the perch with the

 

 

intent to

show them how to jump off. Office work came to a standstill as

everyone gathered to watch.

 

 

 

 

 

The mother

flew down below and started quacking to her babies above. In disbelief

Michael watched as the first

 

 

fuzzy

newborn trustingly toddled to the edge and astonishingly leapt into

thin air, crashing onto the cement below.

 

 

Michael

couldn't stand to watch this risky effort nine more times! He dashed

out of his office and ran down the

 

 

stairs to

the sidewalk where the first obedient duckling, near its mother, was

resting in a stupor after the near-fatal

 

 

fall.

Michael stood out of sight under the awning-planter, ready to help.

 

 

 

 

 

As the

second one took the plunge, Michael jumped forward and caught it with

his bare hands before it hit the

 

 

concrete.

Safe and sound, he set it down it by its momma and the other stunned

sibling, still recovering from that

 

 

painful

leap. (The momma must have sensed that Michael was trying to help her

babies.)

 

 

 

 

 

One by one

the babies continued to jump. Each time Michael hid under the awning

just to reach out in the nick of

 

 

time as the

duckling made its free fall. At the scene the busy downtown sidewalk

traffic came to a standstill.

 

 

Time after

time, Michael was able to catch the remaining eight and set them by

their approving mother.

 

 

 

 

 

At this

point Michael realized the duck family had only made part of its

dangerous journey. They had two full

 

 

blocks to

walk across traffic, crosswalks, curbs and past pedestrians to get to

the closest open water,

 

 

the San

Antonio River , site of the famed "River Walk." The onlooking office

secretaries and several

 

 

San Antonio

police officers joined in. An empty copy-paper box was brought to

collect the babies.

 

 

They

carefully corralled them, with the mother's approval, and loaded them

in the container. Michael held the

 

 

box low

enough for the mom to see her brood. He then slowly navigated through

the downtown streets toward

 

 

the San Antonio River. The mother waddled behind and kept her

babies in sight, all the way.

 

 

 

 

 

As they

reached the river, the mother took over and passed him, jumping in the

river and quacking loudly.

 

 

At the

water's edge, Michael tipped the box and helped shepherd the babies

toward the water and to the

 

 

waiting

mother after their adventurous ride.

 

 

 

 

 

All ten

darling ducklings safely made it into the water and paddled up snugly

to momma. Michael said the mom

 

 

swam in

circles, looking back toward the beaming bank bookkeeper, and proudly

quacking.

 

 

 

 

 

At last,

all present and accounted for: "We're all together again. We're here!

We're here!"

 

 

 

 

 

And here's

a family portrait before they head outward to further adventures...

 

 

 

 

 

Like all of

us in the big times of our life, they never could have made it alone

without lots of helping hands.

 

 

I think it

gives the name of San Antonio 's famous "River Walk" a whole new

meaning! Maybe you will want to

 

 

share this

story with others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice story on Mother's Day.

 

Mike