Feeding the Ducks – Should We or Shouldn’t We?
Here in South Australia our local councils are surrounded with beautiful parklands, wetlands, nature reserves and all the local wildlife that comes with them. Local councils, like the City of Tea Tree Gully, value and actively promote these spaces within our communities.
When Tea Tree Gully Council was informed by an animal welfare organisation about the harm feeding bread causes to the health of ducks and the affect it has on their natural behaviour, they worked with industry experts to find out what could be done to protect their water-dwelling residents. The research showed several common misunderstandings about alternative “duck-friendly foods” among park-users and duck-feeders – wholemeal bread, seedless grapes or duck/chook pellets. While some of these options are kinder on the bird’s digestive systems, the problem of duck-feeding is more complex than diet alone. Watch the video below:
Behavioural changes, including the growing dependence of ducks on people for food, is a big concern. Their reaction to humans tossing seedless grapes and lettuce leaves into the Torrens Lake can leave babies vulnerable as the mother duck abandons her brood in favour of securing food.
Concerns for the wider environment have also come to light. Looking at areas where large concentration of waterbirds congregate it’s easy to find bread tags and other discarded food packaging. The vegetation is also commonly worn away, impacting the integrity of vegetation and water quality.
‘Feeding the Ducks’ has been one of life’s simple pleasures for generations. From the very young to the very old, this has been a way that communities have connected with their local environment and spent many happy hours outside in public spaces. The City of Tea Tree Gully encourages its residents and visitors to spend time with its feathered-friends in a safe and respectful way, and wants to educate and work with the community to ensure the family tradition of spending time around lakes enjoying ducks is not lost.
There are a number of alternate ways for the community to interact with our feathered friends.
Why not:
- try counting the ducks weaving in and out of the reeds
- test your knowledge and identify the different types of ducks in your local wetland
- watch a duck preen itself waterproof
- time how long the Cormorant spends underwater
- watch the way a mother duck moves her ducklings along
For more information and all enquiries please visit the Tea Tree Gully Council website.
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