JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — What makes The Reef at Beachwalk so special isn't the new homes and fresh grass, It's the connection between humans and nature.
"They came, and they would sit in our lap and eat from our hands and let us pick them up and pet them and we just kind of bonded with them that way." said Ellen Fair, a resident.
Fair's backyard is normally vibrant, her kids playing with ducks. An irreplaceable part of her life, this week it's been taken from her as ducks have died every day. Even in her arms.
"I know they're wildlife and I know I shouldn't honestly pet anything that is sick. I couldn't let that duck die alone because I knew that duck, that duck had a name, I just couldn't." Fair said.
Fair and her neighbors all observed similar instances of ducks craning their necks, floundering in the water, then die a short time later.
"We came out and saw one of them just kind of spinning in place and right now there looks like one right on the bank down there that looks like he's about to give up." resident, Jules Bohanon, said.
Taylor Hardin is another resident in the neighborhood and has lived there for five years. She said she's never seen anything like it.
"I went to one of the ducks because it was severely struggling, and its head was wrapped around some algae, so I put a blanket to kind of lay it on there hoping the seizing would stop because that's what it looked like to me, and it didn't, so I picked up the towel put it on the back of my golf cart and completely broke down," Hardin said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was in the neighborhood today. It says it's investigating and won't know the cause of death until a necropsy is performed. It did say it could be bird flu and is urging residents to stay away from the birds.
"I hope when it all settles down that wildlife will come back but, it's a shame when you have to tell your kids ducks are dying, so we can't come by the pond," Hardin said.
We reached out to the Beachwalk management team for comment, and they referred us to its corporate office. First Coast News has not heard back at this time.
In a notice to residents obtained by First Coast News, The Reef at Beachwalk Management said it was actively working on the situation and that a water management company is scheduled to treat the water.
Fair said a company was in her backyard taking samples of the water from the retention pond Wednesday.