10 THE CHARBONNEAU VILLAGER February 2021
Look
but don ’ t
Feed
Charbonneau experiences problems with residents feeding ducks , despite signage
By CLARA HOWELL
Charbonneau resident Candy Plant walks near the Fountain Lakes area almost every day . But she ’ s noticed a problem that has continued to become worse over the years .
“ Last summer I was walking through there and right in front of one of the signs , someone was feeding the ducks ,” said Candy , who has volunteered for more than 25 years with the Wildlife Care Center at the Portland Audubon Society . “ I grew up feeding the ducks bread too but I found out that ’ s the wrong thing to do .”
According to the Portland Audubon Society , feeding ducks or other waterfowl can cause issues for both the birds and the environment . These problems include nutrition problems for the waterfowl , habitat degradation , loss of fear for humans and overpopulation in small urban parks .
Candy said she ’ s seen people feed the ducks cheerios , bread and even rice .
“ And nobody is eating the rice , it ’ s just sitting there ,” she said . “ It makes Charbonneau look cheap when I walk by there .”
Candy said the landscapers work to keep the water and area clean and healthy .
“ When you ’ re feeding the ducks , that food ’ s getting into that water and it ’ s polluting that water ,” said Candy , adding that the bank near the Fountain Lake is destroyed and is coated in mud .
Charbonneau resident sees people feeding ducks despite the signage .
COURTESY PHOTOS
TOP : The bank is being damaged near the Fountain Lake area from feeding waterfowl .
ABOVE : People left rice to feed the ducks . Feeding ducks is not encouraged by the Portland Audobon Society due to a variety of issues that can arise .
“ The big problem too ( is ) that where I live , there ’ s koi in the water .... it ’ s not healthy even for the koi to feed them .”
Candy said another problem is the rats the food will attract .
“ Once rats move in , you ’ re not going to be able to get rid of them ,” Candy said . “ It ’ s getting to be more and more of a problem , especially if we are going to start leaving food out there . It ’ s not good .”
Candy has also noticed the waterfowl population in Charbonneau increasing . According to the Audubon Society , many parks have sick and injured ducks as a result from aggressive behavior when these populations become too large .
“ The Care Center receives dozens of severely injured female ducks each spring that have been attacked by gangs of aggressive drakes ( male ducks ),” the website read . “ We also receive dozens of reports each spring of female mallards nesting far , sometimes more than a mile , from the nearest water source . This is a direct response to their inability to successfully incubate and raise young in our overpopulated parks .”
“ People get so emotionally attached to wildlife , especially when they ’ re thinking they ’ re doing something good ,” Candy added . “ In most cases they ’ re not ; they ’ re doing something wrong .”
For more information visit , the Audubon ’ s website at http :// bit . ly / 39bTD6s .