CL Woman’s Club a softy for Pond’s duck visitor

BY Dawn Rankins

Still sporting its soft down, a duckling brought into the monthly Canyon Lake Woman’s Club meeting, stole the show. The adorable duckling’s owner, Howie Berkowitz, had the ladies in the palm of his hand.

Howie is the owner of The Duck Pond of Lake Elsinore, a Domestic Avian Sanctuary where birds like his young friend lives after being rescued. Howie brought in the soft duckling to share with the ladies and invited them up to pet his little friend Ziggy, who was just 17 days old.

The Duck Pond of Lake Elsinore is run by Howie, two paid workers and three volunteers. The pond currently sits on three quarters of an acre in Lake Elsinore.

Howie Berkowitz and his sanctuary duckling Ziggy cuddle during the Canyon Lake Woman’s Club’s monthly meeting. Howie spoke to the group about his sanctuary for abandoned domestic ducks.

The Pond has been a sanctuary for 8½ years and is run solely on donations, Howie said. When he first started the venture, he was in the classic car restoration business.

He had 25 cars when he began The Pond, but he’s now down to 11. He’s shifted his focus, he said.

The Duck Pond of Lake Elsinore, provides medical care, food and shelters to abandoned ducks. Many of the ducks were purchased as pets, then abandoned when they grew up and weren’t so cute, Howie said.

Ducks at The Pond are fed with a proprietary formula of sweet corn, peas, mealworms, green leafy vegetables, whole grains and seeds.

Ziggy, a 17-day-old duckling, is passed around for the ladies of the Canyon Lake Woman’s Club to pet as part of Howie Berkowitz’s presentation at the group’s monthly meeting.

The average age of a duck is 10 to 14 years old. Domestic ducks don’t fly because they are too heavy, he said.

People have been known to abandon their unwanted ducks near lakes, and bodies of water, and ducks, being known to eat anything shiney, navigate to fishing hooks and fishing lines.

Ducks tend to come to The Pond hurt and in bad shape, and Howie and his team make sure they are seen by a vet and proper care is given to them.

When a duck is brought to The Pond, they are always quarantined for 30 days and every duck is vet checked. Howie said he’s fortunate to have found a vet that charges minimally to take a look at newly-obtained ducks.

Currently, The Pond is caring for 16 disabled ducks.

A donation basket is passed around to the dozens of Canyon Lake Woman’s Club members attending the club’s monthly meeting. Donations were made to the Duck Pond of Lake Elsinore to help its mission of rescuing abandoned domestic ducks. Photos by Dawn Rankins

Howie and his ducks are looking to move to a larger location simply for the benefit of the birds. Howie said, ideally, two acres or a little more would be what’s in the best interest of the ducks and their lifestyle and needs.

Water bills run in excess of $500 a month at The Pond, Howie said. He said he is always looking for donations to help fund the feed, care and water of the ducks.

The Woman’s Club passed a basket around at the meeting to accept donations for The Pond in an effort to help with the cost of the sanctuary.

Donations are always welcome and appreciated, Howie said. Donations can be made by way of PayPal at wiskerbird@gmail.com, Venmo: howie-berkowitz.