The ongoing saga of Blackhawk Plaza’s troubles amid tenant vacancies, turnovers and multiple legal proceedings — including its owners’ bankruptcy — came home to roost in recent weeks as its pond closed for repairs just before the start of summer.
Concerned visitors to the plaza and local wildlife rescuers joined the cast of characters in the plaza’s story as the duck pond was drained and closed for maintenance, making the longstanding water feature’s role in the local ecosystem crystal clear, in contrast with the stagnating water remaining at the plaza’s fountain.
While the ecological impacts of the closure are set to be visible until as late as August, the public and wildlife rehabilitation organizations have rallied to mitigate the effects on the local bird population.
Rescuing the domestic ducks who were dependent on the plaza’s water facilities was one of the most critical aspects, with the four now safe and sound at Charlie’s Acres in Sonoma County for a respite before being transferred to Oak Rock Animal Preserve and put up for adoption later in the month.
“Wild ducks can fly and fend for themselves, whereas domestic ducks can’t,” Rhianna Axon, animal care coordinator with Charlie’s Acres told DanvilleSanRamon.
“Domestic ducks are selectively bred for meat or eggs, resulting in much heavier bodies,” she continued. “Their colorations and lack of wild behaviors also mean they cannot always keep themselves safe in the wild, often resulting in them being hit by cars or killed by predators. It is also illegal to keep wild animals without special permits.”
As concerns about the birds have abounded amid scrutiny of the state of the plaza in recent months, Lindsay Wildlife Refuge board member Liz Harvey emphasized the importance of distinguishing between domestic and wild ducks and their differing needs – specifically, the fact that the remaining wild ducks do not require the same level of intervention.
“The remaining mallards are wild, native birds that can fly freely between the plaza and other nearby water sources,” Harvey said in a June 24 Nextdoor post. “Relocating them is not a practical option because healthy, flighted ducks are very difficult to capture, and even if they were moved, they could simply return.”
Harvey also emphasized that the unpermitted transport or relocation of wild Mallard ducks is illegal, and has the potential to impact the birds’ family structures if ducklings are present. She noted that the wild birds had plenty of food and water at the time, and were doing well.
The rescued domestic ducks were also in good health upon intake according to Axon, but “really scared and confused” following their miles-long trip to the North Bay.
“They had a great appetite and learned to use their kiddie pools quickly,” Axon said.
Charlie’s Acres got involved when one of its volunteers and several other concerned visitors to the plaza asked the organization to take the ducks in for quarantine ahead of their pending move back to the San Ramon Valley at Oak Rock Animal Preserve.
“We are always eager to help our community, so we keep one of our barns empty for this reason and happily said yes,” Axon said.
Following the quarantine period and move to Oak Rock, the ducks — one female and three male — are set to be adopted.
While the female duck and one male duck are a bonded pair, Axon said that all four have a close relationship with each other.
“They are very bonded, so they’re always right next to each other and do absolutely everything together,” Axon said.
Meanwhile, the remaining wild ducks are being supported by local volunteers and plaza management according to Harvey, who are supplying supplementary water, food and seeking to keep the area as clean as possible while awaiting replacement parts that are set to arrive by August.
However, those efforts haven’t mitigated all of the impacts on local waterfowl Harvey said, with the parents of a Canada geese family that had long frequented the area dying in vehicle strikes last month and their goslings found roaming the property.
“Fortunately, rescuers captured all three and transported them to International Bird Rescue yesterday,” Harvey said on June 15. “The geese likely began traveling farther from the shopping center in search of food and then returning to what had become their home base. Just an example of how dependent some of these birds have become on the plaza’s habitat that existed there for many years.”
In addition to volunteering in recent rescue efforts at Blackhawk as many have, Axon called on concerned residents to support local animal sanctuaries and to refrain from releasing domestic animals to the wild, which is believed to be how the domestic ducks arrived at the plaza in the first place.
“People often think they’re setting an animal free, but this is more often a death sentence because domestic animals aren’t equipped to survive on their own,” Axon said.
