A MOTHER duck has been reunited with two of her ducklings after they got separated – thanks to the efforts of a lifeboat crew and an 11-year-old animal enthusiast.
The duck and her young live in a pond in St Catherine, close to the home of Islander Hattie Winchurch, just opposite the lifeboat station.
While waddling near the rescue service’s building at the weekend, three ducklings fell through gaps in a concrete grid.
Members of the lifeboat crew and Hattie rescued one of the creatures quickly, with the young Islander looking after it until staff from the JSPCA arrived. They tried to reunite the duckling with its mother at the pond, but appeared to have little success, with the pair seeming to be uninterested in one another.
The two other stranded ducklings remained trapped under the grid overnight and Hattie and the crew continued with their rescue efforts.
Hattie’s mother, Rachel Winchurch, said: ‘Hattie spent the rest of the evening with her net trying to fish out the two remaining ducklings stuck in the grid.
‘She had a restless night. I was convinced that a rat might have got down there.
‘She woke early the next morning, in order to try again before school, but no good.
‘But as soon as she got home from school, she was immediately out at the station along with several members of the lifeboat crew to continue the rescue.
‘They found two ducklings, still alive. Hattie was absolutely thrilled.’
Her mother added: ‘Hattie loves animals, and what moved me was her desperation to save the ducklings. She was so worried.’
The ducklings were transported to the pond, where they were successfully reunited with their mother.
