{"id":341924,"date":"2026-07-16T08:51:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/341924\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T08:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:51:08","slug":"good-samaritan-spotted-ducklings-tumbling-into-drain-while-crossing-busy-florida-highway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/341924\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Samaritan spotted ducklings tumbling into drain while crossing busy Florida highway"},"content":{"rendered":"

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Two ducklings that tumbled into a storm drain while attempting to cross a busy Florida highway were safely rescued thanks to the efforts of a Good Samaritan<\/a> and sheriff’s deputies, according to authorities.<\/p>\n

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office <\/a>said on July 2, deputies responded to a call about a person walking along U.S. 19 in Pinellas County. When they arrived, they learned the individual was trying to help two ducklings that had fallen into a storm drain while crossing the roadway.<\/p>\n

Deputies Urf and Norton were able to retrieve the ducklings from the drain. Authorities said the birds appeared to be uninjured despite the ordeal. The ducklings’ mother was nowhere to be found, and officials said it was unclear what may have happened to her.<\/p>\n

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said on July 2, 2026, deputies responded to a call about a person walking along U.S. 19 in Pinellas County. When they arrived, they learned the individual was trying to help two ducklings that had fallen into a storm drain while crossing the roadway. (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

After being rescued, the ducklings were taken to Owl’s Nest Sanctuary for Wildlife<\/a>, a rehabilitation organization that cares for injured and orphaned animals.<\/p>\n

The sheriff’s office praised the citizen who stopped to help, noting that the outcome could have been much different on a heavily traveled highway such as U.S. 19.<\/p>\n

The incident serves as a reminder that wildlife encounters are common across Florida, particularly during nesting and breeding seasons when many animals are raising their young. Wildlife experts routinely respond to reports involving ducklings, seabirds, turtles and other native species that become injured, stranded or separated from their parents.<\/p>\n

See also: ‘Simply astronomical’: 60 kilos, $2.1M haul, 9 arrests in Florida cocaine kingpin bust<\/a><\/p>\n

Officials encourage residents who encounter injured or orphaned wildlife to contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation organization before intervening. Experts can help determine whether an animal truly needs assistance and provide guidance on how to safely respond.<\/p>\n

Authorities recommend helping only if it is safe to do so, avoiding the urge to give food or water to injured animals, and keeping a safe distance whenever possible since a parent animal may be nearby. Residents are also urged to keep pets and other people away from the area while waiting for professional assistance.<\/p>\n

Several wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organizations serve Pinellas County<\/a> and the surrounding Tampa Bay area, including:<\/p>\n

Birds In Helping Hands: 727-365-4592Seaside Seabird Sanctuary: 727-391-6211Owl’s Nest Sanctuary for Wildlife: 813-598-5926Raptor Center of Tampa Bay: 813-205-1851SPCA Tampa Bay (Largo): 727-586-3592<\/p>\n

For the two ducklings rescued from the storm drain, authorities said a concerned citizen’s quick actions and the assistance of responding deputies helped ensure the birds received the care they needed and a second chance at survival.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Two ducklings that tumbled into a storm drain while attempting to cross a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-341924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}