Sous chef uses hat to catch roof-jumping ducklings at New Jersey restaurant

ASBURY PARK, N.J., June 24 (UPI) -- A sous chef at a New Jersey restaurant was filmed using his baseball cap to catch two ducklings that jumped from the roof of the eatery just after hatching.

The Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten in Asbury Park posted a video to Facebook showing sous chef Tim Spielman catching the ducklings in his hat as they jumped from the lower deck roof of the structure.

The post said workers discovered the seven duck eggs on the lower deck roof a few weeks ago and safeguarded the nest and mother duck until the babies hatched Thursday.

A restaurant employee named Jennifer said she knew the eggs had hatched when one of the ducklings jumped from the roof and nearly landed on her head.

Jennifer said Spielman caught two ducklings in his hat and the rest were able to make safe landings on their own.

"All 7 Biergarten babes made it to Wesley Lake," she wrote. "What an honor to experience the nest of eggs, Mama sitting on them for weeks and now their first steps."