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  • 2008-07-30 (xsd:date)
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  • Spokane Man Saves Ducklings Jumping from Building Ledge (en)
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  • Mallard ducks frequently make their nests at ground level, but for whatever reason a female Mallard in downtown Spokane, Washington, chose a cement awning ten feet up an office building for her nesting site. As detailed in viral email at the time, the duck laid her clutch of eggs just outside the window of Joel Armstrong, a senior loan officer at Sterling Savings Bank, and he arrived at work one day in May 2008 to find the ducklings hatched and the mother standing on the edge of the awning. As Armstrong watched, mama duck then flew down to the sidewalk below, and her ducklings started lining up on the ledge to jump down onto the hard concrete below to join her: Joel Armstrong himself described what happened for Spokane television station KREM: Armstrong and some of his Sterling Savings co-workers then tried to escort the mother and her offspring to the Spokane River, but the ducklings were too slow to dodge traffic and make it all the way to the water under their own power. So their human helpers obtained a cardboard box, placed the ducklings into it, and walked them to the river, where the little fowl quickly took to the more hospitable aquatic environment. It was amazing watching them jump, Armstrong said. Could you imagine the second day of your life having to jump from a building to get home? Armstrong's story quickly spread on the Internet in the form of the narrative reproduced above, put together by his sister, Candace Mumm. In May 2009, the duckling rescue scenario was repeated when a second brood of ducklings hatched on the ledge at Sterling Savings Bank and was once again caught by Joel Armstrong as they jumped from their nest. Variations: A March 2009 variant shifted the setting of this piece from Spokane to San Antonio; the duckling savior to Michael R (said to be an accounting clerk instead of a loan officer); and the bank to Frost Bank. Also, instead of just onlooking secretaries helping corral the ducklings, the variant reported that several San Antonio Police Officers helped get the ducklings into the box to be carried to the river. (en)
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