Watch: Staff At Wayland Elementary School Rescue Ducklings

WAYLAND, MA — The staff at Happy Hollow Elementary are getting pretty good at rescuing ducks.

It's become an annual spring tradition for the staff to help a family of ducklings escape the school's courtyard. The "very clever" mother duck has been laying eggs there for several years, likely because the courtyard is free of predators like foxes and hawks, and has a small man-made pond.

But once inside, the ducks can't get out into the world to reach better habitat and more adequate food sources.

According to Happy Hollow administrative assistant Leslie Corner, the staff once again gathered to scoop up the family of 11 ducklings and one mother duck and turned them loose into the world. Here's a video of their release:

This isn't the first school-based duckling rescue of spring 2024. Sudbury firefighters were called to a school in April to scoop a group of youngsters out of a storm drain.