Jack and Shirley Schuman

Anyone who lived in the 1960s in the U.S. can easily recall the anti-war song, “Where have all the flowers gone.” In Lehigh Acres, winter residents Jack and Shirley Schuman are singing “Where have all the ducks and birds gone.”

The Schumans returned in November for their stay in Lehigh Acres and they think the answer to that question could be an alligator.

“When we came before, there were so many ducks swimming about on the small lake behind us. We would sit out here on our patio and enjoy watching them.

“But this year, there aren’t any birds flying around the lake, no kinds of ducks, not even a Muscovy which now and then shows up for me to feed, Shirley Schuman said. Her husband nodded in agreement.

She said they wondered if an alligator was calling the lake its home and had eaten all the ducks or else they have taken to safer harbor somewhere else after spotting an alligator in their presence.

MEL TOADVINE Looking over lake behind their home in Willows Lakes South are Shirley and Jack Schuman. They live here during the winter and Shirley says the ducks have disappeared maybe because of a small alligator.

She’s right about the alligator and the Schumans’ next door neighbor in Willows Lake South agrees. Her daughter-in-law spotted the alligator last week as others have, but Shirley Schuman says the alligator is elusive.

As far as her neighbor, Lon Ware who lives next door, his opinion is “Leave the alligator alone. If we see the big ones, then we can worry.”

Shirley Schuman says she agrees.

“I love all the different ducks and the birds that flew over the pond, but now there is silence, but I am not ready to get rid of the what appears to be a small alligator,” she said.

Her daughter-in-law who visited last week along with her husband from up north said she didn’t think the alligator was that large, “but it did have a large head,” she said.

SHIRLEY SCHUMAN Only duck left is this friendly Muscovy which Shirley Schuman feeds. It stays away from the water though where there is a small alligator that pokes up its head from time to time.

“I’d say it may be three feet or a little more long,” Schuman’s daughter-in-law said.

“But we don’t have pictures of the alligator. Whenever he shows up, we don’t have the camera ready, but we now know for sure that he comes and goes and we think it is through a small pipe that allows the water from Willows Lake or another body of water to move and go as does the alligator, which may be looking for food,” she said.

“No I am not going to call anyone to come and find him because he doesn’t seem to pose any danger. There are no children in the area around the lake and nobody is feeding the alligator anyway,” she said.

“I loved my ducks and birds but I don’t want to change the little alligator’s life,” she laughed, as her husband looked over and smiled.

The Schumans have spent the last three winters plus a few months living in Lehigh. They come down from northern Illinois near the Wisconsin border.

“I miss the little Muskovey that I feed. But I don’t think the alligator has gotten him, because he stays out of the water,” Shirley laughed. It’s against the law to kill that type of duck and anyone who does for food is in for a surprise because the meat doesn’t taste very good, many people have said.

“The herons show up some times, but they look for fish along the side of the lake, and they aren’t going to stay around if they spot an alligator,” Shirley said.

“We have got a lot of turtles and fish in the pond and it’s beautiful to sit outside and look over the water, but I do wish the ducks would come back,” she said. She could name almost every type of duck from a bird book she has in the house.

Jack Schuman said he didn’t think a larger alligator could even get into the small lake because the pipe is not that large and he doesn’t seem to worry Jack as much as his wife.

“I just want to see all my ducks and birds come back. We loved coming down here for part of the year to live and it gave me a lot of enjoyment looking out the windows or sitting on the patio outside and watching the duck swimming about,” she said.

“But I am not against the alligator yet because I haven’t seen him attack anything, so for now I am not calling anyone to remove him. I agree with my neighbor.”

Both agreed there are no small pets or any children at all that play in or around the lake. Many of the homes on the other side of the lake are vacant anyway,” Shirley said.

“I just want my ducks to come back,” she laughed. “They meant a lot to me.”