A Pair of Mallards
We have a few Mallards living here with us on our small lake and occasionally, they will come to forage on the ground under the feeders. There was a pair under the feeders yesterday.
The Mallards on our lake are more skittish than the Mallards you will see in city parks or places where people feed them by hand. As far as I know, no one on our small lake feeds them in this way. And this is something to think about.
When I was a little girl living in southeastern Pennsylvania, my parents took me to a local museum and its park on many fine Sunday afternoons to see the ducks. And my mother always saved a bag of bread for me to rip into small pieces to feed them. And I loved this! These ducks were so tame that they would come and take a piece right out of my hand.
A few years ago, I was back in my hometown, visiting friends, and I went to that museum and park. The museum is still open and as wonderful as I remembered it to be – they have a mummy which was utterly fascinating to me when I was a little girl. And the park is even more beautiful with more flower beds, stately trees, and walkways. The stream and pond were still there, but smaller than I remembered. And a whole lot more ducks.
These were still wild ducks. And mostly Mallard, although these Mallards had obviously been breeding with other ducks and probably some escaped domestic ducks because there was some quite unusual plumage. Mallards are known to be promiscuous and here was proof. But now there were signs everywhere about NOT feeding the ducks. There was even a fence around some areas of the pond where when I was a little girl, I could walk right up to the edge and put my fingers in the water.
There was one large sign where most of the feeding of the ducks had taken place explaining what happened. Because this park and museum is in a well kept, large neighborhood, this has always been a relatively safe environment. And because more and more people were feeding the ducks, the duck population exploded. The water of the pond became very polluted from their droppings and all the fish died. And the ducks were becoming a nuisance – even chasing people to their cars when their food bags were depleted. As a result, ‘Do Not Feed the Ducks’ signs were put up and enforced. And at first, people were incensed as they thought it was their right to feed the ducks whenever they wanted and however much they wanted. But they did comply – at least for the most part – and over about a five year period, the duck population decreased and there were no more chasing-people-to-cars incidents. Because the duck population lessened quite a bit, the pond was dredged and fish re-introduced and by the time I was there, the fish seemed to be thriving.
As I read the sign describing all this, I was sad. An era truly over. I think my love of birds had some if its beginnings as a little girl feeding those ducks. I was small so could look them right in the eyes and they were just so alive. I think that made more of an impression on me than I ever imagined.
Besides overpopulation, which can destroy habitat, feeding ducks is dangerous for them. When their diets become heavy with our baked goods or snacks, ducks can become unhealthy. Their systems are designed to process plants, water insects, and small invertebrates. Their digestion systems cannot tolerate unending pieces of bread and our snacks. And any uneaten snacks fell to the bottom of the pond which was not good for the health of the fish or the quality of the water.
But I think the worst part of feeding ducks is that ducks will lose their fear of us. And that is never good. Regardless of how tame these ducks had become they were still wild animals and wild animals should always fear us – look at us as predators. This is because most encounters between wild animals and people do not end well for the animal. And a good example is what happened a few years ago in our small town here in Illinois.
We have a wonderful large park in the middle of town. Lots of open space for children to run around; pavilions for picnics and family reunions; playground areas; looped roads for driving, walking, and biking; and a large pond. For years, this pond was home to a small flock of domestic geese. I am not sure how they got there in the first place, but everyone knew they were there and looked out for them. People – especially parents with young children – did feed them, so these geese became quite used to and tolerant of people.
One night, tragedy struck. A group of teenage boys who lived in town, got drunk, and beat those geese to death. Every last one of them. The town was outraged and sickened. But this is what can happen when wild animals lose their fear of people – they think everyone can be trusted – that everyone is an easy source of food.
As I left that museum and park where as a little girl, I fed the ducks, I thought about all this. I was sad that the present generation of young children living where I grew up will miss out on the wonder of looking at ducks right in the eye and feeling them take a small piece of bread out of their hands. The ducks living there now were not as trusting of people. None were coming close to anyone. And this is so much safer for them. The world can be full of hard lessons.
Now when I see Mallards under our feeders, I notice that if I get too close, they become agitated. And if they have young, they will get in front of them, spread their wings, stare at me, and hiss. That is as it should be and I give them a wide berth and move away. I am pleased they occasionally come to the feeders, but I never want them to become used to me and then to think they can trust every person they see. Because that would eventually lead to tragedy for them.