DUCKS & GEESE: THE FEEDING CONUNDRUM

Yesterday the 3, 4 and 5 year olds took an awesome hike to the little pond at Avalon.  Owen was thrilled and couldn’t get there fast enough so he made himself the leader!  I was so excited by his motivation.  

 

Along the way we found a praying mantis egg case, dandelions blooming, leaves opening and heard a woodpecker hard at work. 

Once we got to the pond we came upon a male and female mallard duck. Louis made sure I knew that they were mallards by saying hello to the “myyards”numerous times!  So precious and amazing that he knows the word… good for his parents!

As you enter Avalon Park there is a larger pond with loads of ducks, geese and other water fowl.  It is has become a favorite spot for families to visit, take photos and feed the animals.  The parents and I were talking about how bad it is to feed the ducks.  A bunch of them were not aware of this, as are most people who stand there with their bags of white bread.   Although many people feel they are doing something good, unfortunately they are not.  Feeding these wild animals has many repercussions.  The easiest one to understand is that bread, popcorn, etc are just not good for ducks.  They are very high in calories and have no nutritional value.  So really we are harming these unsuspecting little guys.  Perhaps you’ve seen the geese who have disfigured wings?  Yep, that is caused by a lack of nutrition in these birds from eating crappy food.  Like people they need vitamins and our man made products don’t cut it.   

Another problem is that these animals forget how to forage for what they naturally eat because food is always supplied for them. So now  they depend upon us to feed them the whatever we think they might like. Doesn’t sound very natural.

If you are in the mood,  here’s a short article about feeding ducks:   http://www.liveducks.com/wfeeding.html

Generally I try not to be preachy but the lesson is self evident.  As a group we sat and observed the ducks today.  We didn’t need to feed them. We just watched them.  We laughed so hard when the female duck dipped into the water leaving only her duck butt up in the air.  That’s all you need to do with kids, watch, talk and laugh!  They gather so much information just by watching.  

For those the others who weren’t interested in observing they wound their way around the pond balancing on the wood stumps sometimes stopping to look at the the grow fiddle heads!!!  So cool and furry!  

 

So next time you feel the urge to feed those ducks, just go down to the pond and watch those silly little guys.  Bring crayons and a pad and draw a pictures of them. (yes you too mom & dad!)  Get a bird guidebook and see if you can identify the water fowl  you see  or just stand, watch and talk to your children about them there’s so much to see!

peace to the ducks and geese  🙂

Sue