The Capital Crossroads and Discovery SID ambassadors work tirelessly every day to keep Downtown Columbus clean and safe. Usually their efforts benefit the people who work, live and visit downtown, but once in awhile, ambassadors offer assistance to our friends from the animal kingdom.
Back in May, one of the SID ambassadors stepped out into Lynn Alley and saw a family of ducks, one momma and her 10-duckling brood. The waddling crew was in danger of being hit by a car so our nearby ambassadors sprang into action to corral the wayward ducks. Ambassadors herded the momma and her babies into the gated area behind the SID offices on Fourth Street, lowering the gate to prevent escape.
The next step involved moving the ducks to safety. The momma duck was not happy to see people trying to pick up her babies, so Josh Vidmar, research and planning assistant, removed his suit jacket to cover the mom’s head. The ambassadors on hand, including Keith Severs and Dan Nicolia, had learned this trick from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources when they were trained on what to do if they found a young peregrine falcon on the ground (peregrine falcons nest near the top of the Rhodes Tower every year, making this a somewhat frequent occurrence as the fledglings learn to fly). Covering the ducks calmed them down giving the ambassadors the chance to nab the ducklings and the momma duck, and move them to the safety of Topiary Park.
Members of The Columbus Dispatch staff were on hand at the park volunteering for spring cleaning, so a photographer snapped some great pictures, which ran the next day in the paper. The hard work our ambassadors do daily can often go unnoticed, so it was nice to get some well-deserved press.
“It was definitely an unusual call. This would have been low priority for ODNR. We were glad we could handle the situation quickly and get the ducks safely to their new home,” explained Nicolia.
The kindness shown by the entire ambassador staff to this little duck family is demonstrative of the kindness, compassion, creativity, problem-solving and hard work ambassadors put in every day on behalf of the residents, workers and downtown visitors.