Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 18:23:36 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: rob gibbs Subject: Re: Feeding ducks????? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This is a good topic for discussion and one that birders should understand and share with their non-birding friends who may not know any better than to feed waterfowl. Feeding waterfowl (or any wildlife), at first glance, seems harmless enough and even helpful but in general feeding waterfowl is frowned upon by the wildlife profession. The feeding that is done at wildlife refuges is done by providing wildlife habitat and more or less "natural foods". Though it is a stretch to call corn and soybeans natural, the food is provided in a natural way in so much as it is spread in limited quantities throughout the planted fields and once the corn in the field is eaten it is gone and the birds move on. The problems with feeding waterfowl come when they are feed regularly in the same place as in a beach area on a lake in a park. The feed is provided day after day in a very concentrated location. Because the feeding is regular the birds tend to congregate in large numbers and loaf in the same area as the feeding takes place as they wait for the next handout - Feeding and defecating in the same location day after day. Not good! Over-all, feeding like this leads to: - overcrowding; - intense competition for the food (it may seem that they are all getting food but often the younger and less aggressive birds in these locations are undernourished and die from it); - disease; - generally poor nutrition because people often feed inappropriate things like bread and junk food - which is terrible for ducks and geese; - high levels of fecal material that can foul (pun intended) lakes and ponds where the birds are fed, leading to algal blooms, low oxygen levels and potential disease for other species including humans - Conflicts with humans like the large concentrations we see of geese on golf courses, school playgrounds, ballfields, picnic areas, etc. - birds loose their wildness and grow to depend on handouts All of these same problems can occur at our backyard feeders, the difference is we, hopefully, keep the areas clean and sanitize the feeders regularly; most of the songbirds that come to feeders are much much smaller birds and don't produce the vast quantities of waste you see where waterfowl concentrate at artificial feeding sites; many of the songbirds come to the feeder, snatch a seed (or 10 or 20 seeds if it is a bluejay) and go off to eat it elsewhere. In general feeding waterfowl is not a good idea. There is plenty of natural food out there - none of these birds will starve. Better to keep them wild and able to fend for themselves. FYI, feeding any wildlife in Montgomery County parks is prohibited! Rob Gibbs, Wildlife Ecologist Montgomery County, MD Marko, Thomas L. GS BUMED wrote: >I think it depends on how you define "interference." Wildlife refuges and >management areas are in essence man-made environments designed to feed and >support wildlife. We feed birds in our backyard. Assuming appropriate >food, why not hungry waterfowl in the throes of winter? > >Tom Marko >Olney, Maryland >tlmarko@us.med.navy.mil > >-----Original Message----- >From: Kerry Stone [mailto:KerryZelda@AOL.COM] >Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 12:45 PM >To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM >Subject: Re: Feeding ducks????? > >Just curious about something regarding the passage below. Is a no-no to >feed the ducks if they are starving? Is that too much interference into >their "wild" life? > >======================================================================= >To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com >with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey >======================================================================= > ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================