Safely Keeping our Ducks in a Row

Feeding ducks and other water-based creatures is somewhat of a season rite of passage. Who doesn’t recall walking along a pond or stream when they were younger, throwing stale bread cubes and similar morsels into the water to feed the wildlife?

Little did most of us know that human feeding of waterfowl actually is an unhealthy practice, both for the birds and for other aspects of their ecosystem. According to information from Texas Parks and Wildlife, there are a variety of negative outcomes from humans feeding ducks and other birds. Beyond the fact that bread doesn’t support the growth and health of these animals, excess bread and other human food thrown into the canals can rot, polluting the waterways of Valley Ranch. This process can lead to algae on water surfaces, resulting in bird diseases and bad odors.

While there are other foods that provide a healthier means of supplementing a bird’s diet – such as half-cut seedless grapes and bird seed, for example – artificial feeding of any kind can make wildlife dependent on humans, attracting them away from their natural habitat. Drawn out from their grass habitat in and along our waterways, waterfowl then can be more subject to predatory acts of wild and domesticated animals. This change in their feeding patterns can also make birds more aggressive, a behavior not desirable among humans, either adults or children.

For more information on caring for wildlife in our community, visit the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The ecosystem within the waterways of Valley Ranch stems from decades – and even centuries – of natural development. By observing, but not feeding, we are able to enjoy these creatures in their own balanced habitat.

photo © Sean Fitzgerald, courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife