Web of intrigue ends swimmingly for Liberty Plaza’s eight baby ducklings

As if Chapman’s section of the Berlin Wall hadn’t already borne witness to enough episodes of confinement, intrigue and ingenious escape, on Monday it loomed over drama that, though not quite on par with Cold War lore, nonetheless caused a stir that rippled across campus.

It all started just before noon, when it became clear to passers-by that a mother mallard couldn’t get her eight precious ducklings out of the reflecting pool at Liberty Plaza. She struggled just to get out herself. With babies in tow, she paddled around and across the pool over and over again, periodically lunging against the concrete lip, only to plop back into the water. A crowd started to gather, and students and staff soon arrived with wooden planks of various lengths and widths, in hopes of providing a means to waddle out. But the visitors just weren’t getting it.

Tales of experience with ducks in backyard pools started fueling alarm. Someone had a neighbor whose interloper ducklings didn’t survive their prolonged exposure to the water, presumably because they hadn’t yet developed protective oils for their feathers. So in Liberty Plaza, more calls went out, including to Facilities Management, and eventually Eric McCulloch pulled up in his cart. Among other things, McCulloch cares for campus pools, and he has seen more than a few ducks lay claim to the waters of Liberty Plaza. However he had never seen them unable to get out. He reached for his long-handled scoop.

By this time, the mom had managed to escape, and she paced the surrounding deck trying to coax her babies to follow. But it was clear to everyone without feathers that McCulloch offered them their best hope for reunion. He cooed soothing messages to the mom as he chased her babes around the pool. Finally a smooth thrust netted three, a parry two more. With help from Janae Hightower, an administrative assistant in the Department of World Languages who nudged the ducklings out of the net and toward Mom in the bushes, eventually all eight were returned to the safety of maternal care.

And from the warm embrace of a grateful campus, McCulloch quickly retreated into the shadows, clearly uncomfortable with the suggestion of a new title: Duck Savior.

Sorry, Eric. But with great pool power comes great responsibility. Or is that scoopability?