Sitting ducks have office staff in a flap

The ducks now enjoy a luxury pad in the garden of rescuer Jennifer's home, next to the river

The baby ducks' mother chose to raise her brood on the perch seemingly without considering how they would shelter, feed - or escape from attackers.

They were rescued after office workers saw them being repeatedly swooped on by seagulls, and feared they would get picked off one by one.

Tourism consultant Jennifer Medcalf was meeting clients in the Scottish Enterprise office in Haymarket when they saw the drama unfolding outside the window.

She said: "We were busy having a discussion and these ducklings were outside our window and the seagulls were swooping around.

"Every swoop from a seagull we went 'Oh no, oh no . . .'

"They were on the terrace but there was nowhere for them to go, the only way for them to get out was through the office building.

"I never thought I was going to have to look after the ducklings, I thought I'd just rescue them."

They called the SSPCA and, after receiving guidance, herded the ducklings and their flustered mother into a box.

She said: "We got one of those boxes that you put archive filing into, pushed them into the box and sat them on my client's knee as we drove back to Currie - we've got an old mill house on the Water of Leith."

They took them indoors at first to keep them warm and safe.

She said: "We had a dog cage because we'd recently had a new puppy so we put netting around the dog cage, because they could get through the holes, and then they sat in my office in the house, on the underfloor heating with a lamp over them."

After a week of steady growth, the ducks were moved outside to a luxury pad in the garden, next to the river.

Ms Medcalf said: "We got a compost bin at Dobbies and we lined it with carpet and put hay on the bottom to keep them warm. We locked them in at night but during the day we made a kind of pen and let them run around.

"We took water from the river, put it into a sledge that we've got and they swim in that. We'll have to keep them for about six weeks - they're about three weeks old now, then we'll just let them go very, very gently."

Sadly the mother duck flew away after being transported with her brood to Currie. She initially appeared back at the office in Haymarket, and there was a possible sighting of her again on the Water of Leith by the house, but she has not lingered.

Ms Medcalf said the new arrivals were getting plenty attention from neighbours.

She said: "Their run is just under the bridge, so we're beginning to get lots of people coming to see how the ducks are getting on."

Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: "We would advise anyone who finds an animal in danger to call our helpline.

"It is very common for mother ducks to choose urban areas to have their young as long as they feel safe and secure.

"They often choose rooftop gardens and we are frequently called to help once their young have hatched.

"The problems tend to arise when the young hatch in built-up areas and their mother tries to lead them to water, often through people and traffic."