FEEDING THE DUCKS: Many of us have warm memories of times spent feeding ducks and feeling that we were doing a good deed. We thought feeding them would make them healthy and happy, but it doesn’t. We would never have imagined it could be bad for them or for us. But it is!
Mass Audubon gives us information to help us learn why it is never a good thing to feed our ducks:
“Feeding attracts large concentrations of waterfowl to areas that cannot naturally support such numbers. Left on their own, ducks and geese will occupy areas that provide sufficient natural food. As food is depleted in one location they will fly to new feeding areas, often miles away.
Artificial feeding encourages unnaturally large flocks to gather in one place where the competition for food can then cause unnecessary stress, which may weaken the birds and make them more susceptible to disease.
Human health can be an issue when deposits of fecal matter effect water quality or when droppings foul the surrounding landscape where children come in contact with them.
Mortality is normally high in bird populations; it is a natural mechanism, important in maintaining populations that the environment can support. Artificial feeding may allow frail birds to survive, reproduce, and diminish the species as a whole.
Species of waterfowl that would not normally be found feeding in the same location can be artificially concentrated in small areas where an increased incidence of hybridization may occur. This can lead to to weakening of the gene pool … and is an increasing problem in Mallard and Black Duck populations.”
Artificial feeding encourages ducks to delay migration. Leaving a location later than normal means they will have difficulty finding good nutrition during their migration and may not be successful in reaching their wintering grounds.
Waterfowl will defecate where they feed – often at the edge of the water. Naturally, the amount of feces they produce is directly proportional to the amount they eat. It’s not a healthy environment, especially for young children and the elderly. Many areas are closed to swimming when overpopulation of waterfowl causes unsafe bacteria levels in the water.
IF WE LOVE OUR DUCKS WE WILL LET THEM FEED NATURALLY AND ENJOY WATCHING THEM FROM A SAFE DISTANCE!!
This information is excerpted from “Mass Audubon” and “Dusk Rescue Network – helping people help ducks.”