Bay Shore firefighters rescue 11 ducklings from storm drain

Firefighters and Suffolk County police pulled 11 ducklings from a storm drain behind Lowe’s Home Improvement in Bay Shore after a report of baby birds trapped in the drain. Bay Shore Fire Department 2nd Assistant Chief Kyle Voges was first on scene and confirmed the birds were inside the drain before crews worked to get them out safely.

The rescue unfolded Tuesday afternoon, May 19, 2026, in the lot behind the store, where the call brought together the volunteer Bay Shore Fire Department and the Suffolk County PD Emergency Service Section. Fire crews and police opened the drain and removed the ducklings without injury, keeping the operation contained to the area behind the retailer rather than turning it into a wider roadway response.

Lowe’s staff notified a local animal rescue organization to take over once the ducklings were recovered, ensuring the birds could be relocated after the extraction. The Bay Shore Fire Department, organized in 1891 and still 100% volunteer, handled the kind of small-bore emergency that often pulls local departments away from bigger calls and back to the everyday work of protecting both people and animals.

The scene also fit a pattern that Long Island departments have seen before. In June 2025, Suffolk County Marine Bureau officers rescued nine ducklings from a storm drain in Gilgo Beach and reunited them with their mother in the Great South Bay. In July 2025, seven ducklings were pulled from a storm drain on the Long Island Expressway near exits 62 and 63, with Suffolk police and Department of Transportation crews lifting the cover to free them and transfer them to Long Island Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation. In Bay Shore, the storm drain rescue did not appear to create a major traffic or public-safety disruption, but it again showed how quickly routine infrastructure can become a hazard for wildlife.