Sometimes journalists capture a story because they are in the right place at the right time. Press Herald photographer Ben McCanna was at the McDonald’s on St. John Street in Portland for a quick dinner when he heard about a dramatic duckling rescue. A baby duck had slipped through a storm grate and was quickly followed by its brothers and sisters.

With the mother duck nearby, McCanna and the manager of the McDonald’s pulled the storm grate off to attempt a rescue. McCanna used a monopod and a cardboard box to fish out five of the 10 ducklings out of harm’s way. The manager went into the grate and rescued three of the remaining five ducks. Two did not survive.

I was part of a rescue today @McDonalds on St. John St. when 10 ducklings slipped into a storm grate. The store manager and I pried off the grate, and I pulled 5 to safety with a cardboard box taped to a monopod. The rest of the ducklings resisted, so the manager went in. Hero. pic.twitter.com/geiCyVsyiI — Ben McCanna (@BenMcCanna) June 7, 2018

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