Police have come to the rescue after a family of curlews caused quite the sensation in Fortitude Valley on Saturday night. 

The birds had been crossing Gipps Street when a chick lost its footing and fell down a drain.

Its parents refused to leave the chick behind and in true curlew fashion, also refused to let anyone near the drain – especially cars driving along Gipps Street.

A number of officers came to the rescue, conducting traffic control and lifting the drain to reach the chick, which was reunited with its parents.

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“After receiving a few well-earned pecks from its rather irate parent, mum and chick were ushered off the road and into a park,” police said.

BirdLife Australia project officer Callan Alexander said while it might not seem like the most practical place to call home, bush stone-curlews have taken quite a liking to developed areas.

“They’re what we call an urban adaptor,” he told Laurel, Gary & Mark. “It sort of seems like the way that we’ve been modifying the landscape, they seem to like it, basically.

“They definitely seem to be doing better further north, where it’s a bit warmer.”

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Images: Queensland Police Service