Deadly winter takes toll on waterfowl in Michigan

© Andrew Jowett / Times Herald

Ducks sit on a shelf of ice Monday along the St. Clair River in Port Huron.

Harsh weather is taking a toll on the waterfowl concentrated in the St. Clair River.

Terry McFadden, a wildlife biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said waterfowl across the state are dying because of the extreme cold and growing ice cover.

Below-zero temperatures have caused rapid ice formation, blocking ducks from food sources in the water and sometimes trapping the birds in the ice.

"Most likely it's going to be similar to last year, we lost quite a few last year," McFadden said. "We don't have a really good estimate, but it was in the thousands."

McFadden said waterfowl, including long-tailed and canvasback ducks, are concentrated in the St. Clair River, where some of the region's only remaining open water is located.

That large concentration of birds depletes available resources as the ice forms.

"I don't know if we're going to lose as many (ducks) this year, but it's hard to say, we got hammered with these conditions fast," McFadden said.

While it is tough to see, he said people need to leave the ducks alone. The ice is unstable, and even if a duck is freed, he said its fate may already be sealed.

"It's a terrible way for any wild animal or any animal out there to go. It's unfortunate," McFadden said. "There's not much you can do at this point."

But John and Chelsea Borkovich of Fort Gratiot couldn't stand to watch the birds die Monday.

The Fort Gratiot father and daughter had originally ventured down to the river in Port Huron to see some of the migratory diver ducks that fly in from Saskatchewan, Manitoba and northern Michigan.

With camera and binoculars, the two discovered something unexpected along the icy shoreline of the river near where the Coast Guard cutter Hollydock docks.

"We found probably seven dead ducks, all different types," Chelsea said. "We found three that were still alive. We came back and saved a couple others stuck in the ice."

John Borkovich, who worked as a Michigan conservation officer for 27 years, said he knows it can be all too common in Michigan waters.

"Last year we lost thousands of ducks in the state," he said. "It's important to save anything that can't fend for itself."

The two began freeing the ducks by pulling the still-attached feathers out of the ice. They also used a 20-foot aluminum pole to test and later break up the ice that surrounded the ducks.

Afterward, they brought the ducks up the bank to their van to warm up. The ended up freeing five ducks.

The female redhead was one of the last they brought up to get warm.

"Probably within 10 minutes, she would have been dead," Chelsea said. "She was sideways and her eyes were closed."

Minutes after being released back into the St. Clair River, the bird could be seen diving down for food once more.

"Some people would say, 'It's just a duck,'" John said. "But that's not fair. It's still a living creature."