March 28, 2024

Ducks, warm weather limit ice skating options

DAVENPORT — A group of ducks is being blamed for helping limit the ice skating options in Davenport so far this winter.

City officials said the ducks on the lagoon at Vander Veer Park helped keep the ice from freezing solid. Parks and Recreation Director Scott Hock says the ducks generated enough heat that city workers couldn’t use heavy equipment to clear the ice.

“Around Christmas, we shooed the waterfowl off, but it (ice) didn’t get thick enough for us to get equipment on,” he said. “Then it got warmer, and the ice opened up again.”

Orrin Jones with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the city may be giving the ducks too much credit because birds usually can’t keep a body of water open long in the winter.

“Every water body is a little different. They can keep it open to a certain point, and then it’s going to get too cold,” Jones said. “Most of the time, it gets cold enough to push them out.”

The ice didn’t reach a thickness of at least 6 inches until late last week. Hock said the ice is now thick enough for skating and the equipment used to clear the ice, so workers will prepare the pond this week.