Strangers banded together to save a waddling of ducklings seemingly stranded on top of a Woolworths.
Stephen Ratcliffe spotted some fluffy Pacific black ducklings standing on top of the awning of Franklin Woolworths on Friday morning.
"I noticed there was a little duck basically wandering around the carpark near my car," Mr Ratcliffe said.
"I could hear these little ducklings."
The Franklin resident was about to leave when he spotted the ducklings on top of the Woolworths.
He quickly sprung into action.
"We had to rely on them jumping off the awning and us catching them before they hit the ground, so it was pretty stressful," Mr Ratcliffe said.
"We had to almost stay out of view of them ... but also be there in time to catch them when they decided to jump."
It took about half an hour for all eight ducklings to reunite with mum in the Woolworths carpark.
They were carried in boxes across the carpark and road to a pond.
Passers-by and Woolworths staff joined in the effort, Mr Ratcliffe said.
"More and more people who walked past joined the efforts," he said.
"It was very much a group effort to catch them and get them across the road.
"It ended up being a really, nice, wholesome thing."
The community assumed the ducklings would end up splat on the concrete ground if they weren't caught.
However, ACT Wildlife Bird coordinator Marg Peachey said the ducklings probably did not need to be rescued.
Ms Peachey said it was good that the ducklings ended up back in the water with the mother.
"[But] they probably should have left them alone," Ms Peachey said.
"If mum was there with them, she would have just waited until they were all off the roof, and they would have all walked away.
"They know where the water is, so they'll head off into the right direction."
Ms Peachey said Pacific black ducks sometimes nested in tree hollows, and the ducklings could jump from heights.
"The little ones just jump out, they are so light, they don't hurt themselves," she said.
"They all hatch on the same day, and then they all jump out and follow mum and/or dad to water.
"They weigh about 30 grams ... so they're not gonna hit the ground too hard."
Ms Peachey said it was better to leave birds alone "unless they're in absolute danger".
"It's a natural thing. We shouldn't really be intervening unless it's absolutely necessary. These are wild animals, they know what they're doing," Ms Peachey said.
ACT Wildlife president Yana del Valle said that when in doubt, call her organisation on 0432 300 033 before interfering with wild animals.
"If you don't know, or you're not sure, always ring ACT Wildlife for advice," she said.
ACT Wildlife is the territory's equivalent to WIRES. WIRES cannot operate in the ACT.
While some people on social media said the mother duck had a nest on the Woolworths awning, Ms Peachey said it would be very hard to incubate eggs without any proper shelter.
"I find it really hard to believe, unless there was a tree close by and they all had to land on the roof," she said.
"It's unusual for them to be in trees too, they're more likely to be in water."
Pacific black ducks can nest in reeds near the water.
The duckling season has also finished, so the babies were born a bit out season, Ms Peachey said.
The waddling to water through a carpark and road would have been the "dangerous part" for the duck and ducklings, Ms Peachey said.
"In Canberra we've got roads everywhere," she said.
"[We get calls] because they're going across roads [or] some have been hit by a car."
She said any Canberrans needed to look after their own safety if they were concerned about ducks or ducklings walking across a road.
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ACT Wildlife 0432 300 033
