Ready for Cuteness Overload? Astoria FD Rescues Ducklings from N. Oregon Coast Drain

Published 05/15/25 at 4:45 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Astoria, Oregon) – Astoria Fire Department (AFD) typically runs into unique situations all the time. Rescuing someone is never exactly the same scenario as whatever preceded it. (All photo AFD)

AFD received a unique call – by any standards – on Monday, May 12. Astoria dispatch received a report that a tour bus driver witnessed seven baby ducks fall into a sewer drain at 17th and Grand in the north Oregon coast town.

Out went AFD to assist. What followed was what could only be described as a “tight squeeze” in the world of rescues.

“The ducks were located inside a manhole in the middle of the intersection,” AFD said on its FB page. “C Shift did not hesitate to enter the manhole to rescue the ducks.”

One AFD rescuer crammed himself inside that not-so-gaping entrance, and out he came with the seven ducklings placed safely into a metal container.

Yet there was another problem. There was no sign of their mother.

“All 7 were located and removed from the storm sewer, but unfortunately momma duck was nowhere to be found,” the agency said. “AFD received a call from the tour bus operator that she located the momma entering the river near the 17th Street Dock.”

AFD managed to find the momma duck and set the little ones into the river as near to her as they could.

“After a short swim the entire group was reunited,” AFD said. “A perfect end to [the] incident. A huge thank you to the tour bus driver Stephanie and C Shift for all of your hard work and dedication to the entire community."

By the photos you can see momma duck and her tiny brown brood swimming away. The only thing that would've made that photo more perfect would've been a shot of them heading off into a sunset.

It was, of course, cloudy. It is the Oregon coast, after all.

Now, you could literally say everything was just ducky.

The ducks appear to be gadwalls – common sights in the state. As a breed they're often seen in city parks and ponds all over the U.S.

According to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), adult drakes have a bill that's black, a buff head and gray body. However, this was a female, obviously.

“Hens are nondescript brown ducks with a spotted, yellowish-orange bill with black edges,” ODFW says. “Unique among dabbling ducks, the gadwall has a partly white speculum (rear part of the wing) that can be seen when the bird is in flight.”

They're known to steal from other flocks of ducks, but the gadwall also craves submerged aquatic plants for its din-din. Indeed, that accounts for most of its diet, ODFW said.

“As a result, they are often found feeding far from the shoreline, in deeper water than most other dabbling ducks,” ODFW said. “Can be abundant is eastern Oregon early in the season, but most will continue migrating to California as the season progresses.”

Oregon Coast Beach Connection caught another similarly heartwarming animal rescue more than a decade ago. A golden retriever had accidentally bounded its way into the deadly surf at Depoe Bay. In the story you can see the goldie getting carried out of the surf zone, and soon after as its owners were drying the dog off.

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