San Marco’s duckless Duck Pond of concern to residents
Hundreds of waterfowl that used to inhabit Colonial Manor Park’s iconic Duck Pond have disappeared during the past few years and nearby residents want to know the reason why. To understand possible causes for their disappearance and to lay to rest fears that toxic contaminants may have made the pond inhospitable, District 5 City Councilwoman LeAnna Cumber held a special Zoom town meeting for Colonial Manor residents Jan. 27.
Joining Cumber in the meeting were Chief Melissa Long of the Jacksonville Environmental Quality Division, Jacksonville Director of Public Works John Pappas, Catherine Hannan and Sarah Helm of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and Dr. Quinton White, a Miramar resident and executive director of the Marine Science Research Institute and professor of biology and marine science at Jacksonville University.
Colonial Manor Park consists of a shallow five-acre lake with aerator fountains and a narrow strip of land adjacent to San Jose Boulevard. In years past it has been a haven for hundreds of ducks and geese, which have all but disappeared, although a variety of turtles – alligator, soft-shell, and snapping – make their home in the murky water as well as a few fish. Other predator wildlife observed in the area are foxes, alligators, raccoons, and occasionally, river otters.
“We’ve watched the pond change over the years,” said Joe Honeycutt, a resident who has lived next door to the pond since 2005. “When we first moved here, I counted about 20 wood ducks that wintered over on the pond. That 20 became 100 by the summer, although by midsummer 80 of them would migrate away. After that, around 2012, we started to see Canada geese on the pond. They started with two and then became a flock of six.”
Honeycutt said over the last five to seven years he has not seen a wood duck on the pond other than a couple that might fly in for the day before disappearing. He also noted that a few years ago 30 Muscovy ducklings were dumped at the park after being rescued elsewhere. Over the summer all were killed by foxes, he said, adding that as of January 27, he had seen five Mottled ducks, one Mallard, one Muscovy and two Canada geese that flew in that day.
“My concern has been the contaminants in the water. This is a retention pond, and everything goes on the lawns around here,” he said, noting neighbors on nearby streets commonly use herbicides, fertilizers, and pesticides to keep their grass green. “I frequently go out to the pond and muck out what has floated to the corner near our house so the city can take away the trash. I have seen cans of beer, and oil cans as well as other unmentionable things that float. I know there are contaminants in the water. I just don’t know what kind.”
Long said COVID-19 has hampered the city’s ability to sample the water in the pond after the issue was first raised early in 2020. In samples taken on Sept. 15, 2020, the Duck Pond was found to have an elevated pH level of 9.52 and dissolved oxygen level of 136.9 as well as a slightly higher total nitrogen level of 2.35. Most local ponds in the San Marco area record levels of 1.5 or less, said Long, adding that most ponds in the city average between 6.4 and 8.4 pH. “The Duck Pond is at 2.35, that’s not extreme but it is a little high,” she said. “If you see some algae bloom, that may be what it is from.” Because there are aerator fountains in the pond, that might explain why the dissolved oxygen levels were higher than other water bodies in the area, she said.
Long said the city does not do herbicide or pesticide testing. “We don’t have that capability,” she said. In reaching out to its sister agencies, Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Environmental Protection, her department learned that the higher dissolved oxygen levels might be caused by algae. After testing again, Long said she could not find any reason for the elevated pH level.
“All of the information we received from the pond did not point to a reason that would cause the birds to leave,” she said, noting she believed there might be several other reasons for their disappearance that are not related to water quality including natural wildlife fluctuation; an inability for the birds to reproduce; resting and nesting disturbances by people, cats and dogs; or common predators such as alligators, foxes, raccoons, snapping turtles, and otters from the St. Johns River that enjoy feasting on eggs. “Some neighbors see ducks and geese as annoyances and take covert actions to drive them off or relocate them,” she said. There has also been an outbreak of enteric duck hemorrhagic fever – a.k.a. duck viral enteritis – in Northeast Florida this year, she added, noting that Muscovy ducks and White Pekin ducks are particularly susceptible to the disease.
Hannan did not seem concerned to hear the ducks had disappeared. “Too much of a good thing can turn into a bad thing,” she said. “Artificially increasing populations of birds can backfire on us. Sometimes large flocks of waterfowl are not always beneficial and can create environmental hazards of their own.”
Some of the hazards impacting waterfowl Hannan mentioned were pollution, delayed migration, overcrowding and unhealthy conditions, disease, the encouragement of exotic species, and the hybridization of native species. “You don’t want to encourage non-native species. Diseases can spread into native populations,” she said, adding that another big concern is the hybridization between Mallard ducks, which are common, and Mottled ducks, which only exist in peninsular Florida. Interbreeding with Mallards, which are considered domestic ducks, produces genetically poor stock, she said.
Duck Pond history
Glen Wieger, a resident, provided some background on the pond from his own research. He said the pond was capped in 1965 and that the city owns it. “They permitted it with the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD),” he said, noting in 1990 it took them three years to close the permit. “There have been no submitted water quality of water quantity permits for this pond that are on file with SJRWMD,” he said. “I reached out to Everett Frye (a professional engineer with SJRWMD). There are only consumption-use permits. There are no ERP, which means Environmental Resource Permits.”
The Duck Pond, which is believed to have a depth of 2 feet, is considered an “impaired water body,” he said, backing up his claim with research he has done with the water management district. Later in the conversation, Honeycutt said areas of the pond are more than 2 feet deep and may in some places be as deep as 10 to 12 feet. He said he knows this because he has seen people swimming in the pond, which is not a good idea.
Long countered Wieger’s claim by saying the impairment was for a nearby creek and not the Duck Pond. “The bacteria we measured in this pond was pretty nonexistent,” she said.
The Duck Pond is not a permitted stormwater facility, Pappas said. “Our standards for stormwater management that we construct and maintain are deeper and do different things. This functions as a duck pond.” Pappas agreed to provide information to Wieger about the drainage basin and runoff that might make its way into the duck pond.
White said he agreed with the observations that Honeycutt made about the reduction of birds at the pond and suggested neighborhood predators might be the reason. He also suggested the pond might be filled with sediment with toxins in it as it becomes shallower over time, as no dredging has been done to clean it out. He also said it was a mistake for residents to feed bread to birds and turtles in the park.
In addressing the problem, Honeycutt said he would like to see the city measure the water quality for herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. Neighborhood residents should be encouraged to plant native plants and reduce the amount of unhealthy chemicals they use on their lawns, he said. Steve Kennelly and his wife volunteered to assist in encourage neighbors in lessening pesticide use. Both Long and White agreed it could be an educational opportunity for the neighborhood.
“This is a great opportunity for a community project where you could band together and talk to your neighbors about building river-friendly yards,” White said. “Also important is educating people not to leave food out, including cat food, which attracts raccoons. It is important to put a 10-foot fertilizer-free buffer around yards. It really makes a difference,” he said. Long also referred to the city’s fertilizer ordinance, which states that a 10-foot, no-fertilizer zone and a 6-foot low maintenance zone be kept on yards that abut waterways like the Duck Pond, to prevent fertilizer from polluting the water if there is an overland flow.
Honeycutt’s wife, Suzanne, asked if there was anything that could be done about the excessive turtle population. “Turtles can be encouraged by supplemental feeding,” said Hannan. They do really well in a variety of conditions. There is no real solution. You won’t have any luck with their removal or stuff like that,” she said.
As far as solutions to the duck problem, it was suggested that an island be built in the midst of the pond for ducks to rest and nest. “I think that is something we could look at,” said Pappas. I think the waterflow through the pond is important, so making sure you put it in the right place to maintain it might be a challenge, but it is certainly something that we can look at, especially if it is very shallow in those areas.”
By Marcia Hodgson
Resident Community News
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