[weather]

Hey all,

My wife and I have been taking our kids to feed the ducks at a local duck pond now for years. Recently a "Do not feed the ducks" sign has been put-up. I was wondering about your opinion on feeding ducks and geese, and if this is a concern to you or the birding community.

Thanks,
Michael

[Tero]

Originally Posted by weather

Hey all,

My wife and I have been taking our kids to feed the ducks at a local duck pond now for years. Recently a "Do not feed the ducks" sign has been put-up. I was wondering about your opinion on feeding ducks and geese, and if this is a concern to you or the birding community.

Thanks,
Michael

http://www.kidsturncentral.com/topics/animals/ducks.htm

[IanF]

I can't see the harm in feeding ducks provided it's a regular thing so that a food source can be maintained. I do it every day myself at a city centre park/pond at a cost of 49p per day.

My local reserve discourages feeding of Geese though as they cause too much disturbance to the pond so that other birdlife cannot feed efficiently on the bottom.

[Michael Frankis]

I'd agree it should be discouraged, and quite strongly discouraged too.

Some reasons:

1. Most people don't have any understanding of avian nutrition, and give them very unsuitable food (i.e., white bread made from refined flour). Most of my local park pond ducks appear to be suffering from degenerative liver disease caused by extreme obesity.

2. After feeding them, the same people almost invariably drop the plastic bag the bread was in, in the water, where it can trap birds and other wildlife (yes, they do this despite the provision of litter bins).

3. They go on insisting that the birds must be given another three loaves, even when they are too full up to eat any more. All this extra bread lies rotting in the water, causing serious pollution.

4. What the ducks eat, is processed into duck droppings, which also (in the excessive quantities produced) pollutes the water.

5. They may wish to deny it, but they are also feeding (probably more than they do the ducks) a huge and growing rat population. This creates more problems for birds.

Michael

[Gill Osborne]

I can't stand it when people feed the ducks etc on that revolting white muck ie bread!!!

Basically, Michael says it all!!!!!!! And probably a lot politer than I can!!!

Folk feeding things on the wrong sort of food drives me nuts!!! They are just too selfish to consider any harm they may be doing to the birds or the environment.

[seb_seb]

I think the only strong point for feeding them is that it gets people interested in helping the birds...rather than chucking stuff at them.
I think another disadvantage is that most of the bread goes to the most aggressive bird which tends to be the canada geese, which further increases their population

[Bluetail]

So what do I feed the Glaucous-winged Gull when turns up in Plymouth?

But feeding can be a menace. I dropped in on Par Beach Pool the other day on spec. I'd hadn't even turned the car engine off before a herd of swans started marching towards me (with a score or two of gulls in tow). One cob came right up and started banging on the driver's window with his beak. Talk about pushy! It took him three or four minutes to get the message that I wasn't a breadmobile.

Jason

[birdman]

Hmmm.... looks like I'd better stop feeding the ducks then.

[helenol]

Birdman - I guess you've taken the hint!

[helenol]

What about feeding them with chickcrumbs or something similar?

[Bluetail]

Helen, I expect I'm going to appear very stupid, but what are chickcrumbs?

Jason

[grouse]

Keep feeding the ducks birdman. My sons, aged 5 and 2, take me to feed the ducks every weekend. We don't feed them bread though. For the princely sum of £4.25 each I buy a 25kg bag of mixed grain (wheat and corn) and a 25kg bag of barley. It lasts for ages and the ducks seem to enjoy it.

[helenol]

Jason, it's a feed young ducks eat. I hand raised a Black Indian runner duck on it. Available in most pet shops, and cheap too. Or, as grouse says, mixed grain.

[pduxon]

Originally Posted by birdman

Hmmm.... looks like I'd better stop feeding the ducks then.

No just feed them some proper food. The Mallards on the village pond aren't really wild are they.

My dad enjoys feeding the Ducks at Bibury in the Cotswolds. The river is full of trout and the Mallards have a real race on their webbed feet!!

[logos]

I agree that white bread made with refined flour is terrible stuff but you can't beat it for making chip butties.

Spud

[birdman]

Chip butties for me and mixed grain for the ducks sounds like a happy compromise!

[weather]

Wow, good stuff. But, now who's going to tell my wife?...I'm not going to do it.

Michael

[Elizabeth Bigg]

Originally Posted by weather

Wow, good stuff. But, now who's going to tell my wife?...I'm not going to do it.

Michael

Get the ducks to send her a text message!

[helenol]

Get the ducks to send her a text message!

Alternatively show your wife the ducks "webbed site"
boom! boom!

[samuel walker]

Originally Posted by birdman

Hmmm.... looks like I'd better stop feeding the ducks then.

It's not so much the bread that bothers me its the delivery.In just about all the cases I've witnessed, a parent arrives with kid or 2 to feed the birds and they charge the flock terrorizing the birds to flee. I admit I do watch with a small amount of silent glee in the Spring when the little kiddies are charging around gander Canada Geese. I haven't seen it happen yet, but, I have seen the rage from a Mute Swan How much hurt is in the bill and neck of a Canada?
Good sightings,
Sam Walker