Helping Ducks Cross Pennsylvania Ave during lunch break

Columns

by Prince Of Petworth March 21, 2012 at 2:45 pm 41 Comments

A reader writes:

“Thought it was really cool how we, complete strangers, came together and stopped traffic to help a momma duck and her ducklings cross Pennsylvania Ave.”

Awesome!

textdoc

Awww, very cute! Make way for ducklings!
- emmaleigh504
  
  Thank you, I couldn’t remember the name of that book.
emmaleigh504

Thank you PoP! Those little guys hopping up on the curb were totally adorbs!
Anonymous

This 100% made my day. THANK YOU for sharing it :)
patti

omg, when the baby duck tries to hop up on the curb, misses, and falls? TOO CUTE! Totally made my afternoon, thanks PoP!
lisat

OMG I LOVE you guys! Thank you for doing that.
dreas

I, along with a group of total strangers, also did this on M St in Georgetown a couple of years ago. Why they were all on the north side of the street, I have no idea, but we got them all safely across and to the canal. So freaking cute. I love baby ducks.
Grand Funk

Nice change of pace instead of reading about a murder. Thanks for sharing
Anonymous

so sweet! they probably escaped from NMAI’s pond… little travelers… so adorable
Anonymous

Has the Pershing Park pond been filled yet? Love the ducklings that are there every year.
- textdoc
  
  I used to work near there and loved that little park (and watching the ducks). It’s a hidden gem in downtown D.C.!
Anonymous

I love them. I love them all.
emtenem

aww yeay thanks this made me smile..needed it
Pami

This was one of my favorite things while going to GWU! It made being surrounded by concrete and glass more than tolerable.
Anonymous

This is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen.
anon

and yet, I nearly get killed every morning trying to cross Florida because no cars obey the “YIELD FOR PEDESTRIAN” sign right in the middle of the road.
- ah
  
  Yeah, I was about to say that had this been little people instead of little ducks both a cyclist and a taxi would have mowed them down.
- orderedchaos
  
  That’s because—no matter how attractive you may be—you aren’t as irresistibly adorable as baby ducks.
- anon
  
  woooop…woooooooop. debbie downer.
gdopplerxt

I saw a similar scene unfold about an hour ago a block away at 19th & Penn. Quite possibly the same group of ducks. Hopefully not the same group of people (get back to work!).
- Anonymous
  
  That was definitely us!
chyogi

I did this once, all the way from 18th & Mass to 22nd & P, stopping traffic so the mama and her six ducklings made it safely. Had to scoop them up a couple of times because they little ones couldn’t make the jump onto the curb.
- Anonymous
  
  I was always told that if a human touched a baby bird, the mama bird wouldn’t be able to recognize its scent or would only smell human, and so would abandon it. Is that an old wives’ tale?
  - textdoc
    
    I’ve definitely heard that about baby birds in nests… but I don’t know if it applies to baby birds that are mobile, like these ducklings. (Or to aquatic birds, for that matter.)
  - Nic
    
    That’s a old wive’s tale. Birds don’t have that keen of a sense of smell. So you don’t need to worry about putting a baby bird back into its nest or whatever.
pabloraw

Very hard for the “Afternoon animal fix” to follow this act!
- ah
  
  +1. this was my fix.
Ben

Thanks so much for taking care of them! I saw these ducklings hopping out of their planter/nest this morning and feared for their future – thanks for helping them out!
claire

Made my day, thanks!
SingLikeSassy

Awwwww.
Anon

Cute overload!! Thanks for taking care of them and getting it on video! And thanks for sharing, PoP!
newwaveguy

I want to thank everyone that helps the ducks and their little ones, Thank you!!!
andy2

The second half of this story was on Rachel Maddow – the Secret Service helped carry the ducklings over a wall and into the White House to follow Mama Duck.
Made my day!
- Anonymous
  
  Here’s a clip of the scene described above! http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Family-of-Ducks-Visits-White-House-143726946.html
Nikita

And, of course, some asshat honks their horn, because they have a full day of counting paper clips they need to get to
- Anonymous
  
  you shouldn’t assume that the lives of others are similar to yours.
- anonnnn
  
  i assumed the honk was a honk to say “hey way to go!”
Anonymous

Just lost my job and this little video made me feel better. Thanks for sharing!
Anonymous

i love this so much.
laurabl

are these the same ducks??? http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Family-of-Ducks-Visits-White-House-143726946.html
Anonymous

SO cute!!!! :)

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