Don鈥檛 Feed the Waterfowl

You don鈥檛 like stale bread, and neither do birds.

Last week, workers at Melbourne Park in Florida installed signs with red lettering that read,  鈥淔eeding Wildlife Prohibited.鈥 You might think this was intended to protect wild animals, but really the intention was to stop birds, accustomed to humans giving them treats, from harassing park-goers, .

The parks鈥 birds had gotten feisty. "A couple days ago, three very attractive white geese went after me like it was D-Day," Melbourne city manager Mike McNees told the city council, the local paper reported.

It鈥檚 a smart move, says Stephen Kress, vice president for bird conservation at the 探花精选. People shouldn鈥檛 feed waterbirds like geese or ducks.

Here鈥檚 some advice for interacting with birds in parks:

1. Don鈥檛 want rogue birds? Don鈥檛 feed them.

Birds normally stay away from humans, but feeding them can make them lose their fear of us. While it鈥檚 really only geese who attack, says Kress, not feeding waterbirds helps keep proper distance.

Supplementing birds鈥 diets can alter their behaviour in other ways, too. , artificial feeding sites for waterbirds creates unnatural competition, and delay bird migration: 鈥滵ucks and geese are far better off building their reserves by moving from location to location in search of a healthy natural diet than they are living on foods that we would never consider feeding to our children or our pets.鈥

2. Stop with the (moldy) bread.

If you think something is too old to eat yourself, it鈥檚 probably too old for birds. Moldy food that (well-meaning) humans often bring to parks is just as bad for birds as it is for humans.

Avoid feeding the birds fresh bread and crackers, too鈥攖hey鈥檙e just a source of empty calories that don鈥檛 deliver the nutrients these animals need to stay healthy.

3. Birdseed isn鈥檛 great for ducks and geese, either.

Even feeding birds the right stuff has its downsides鈥攂irdseed will attract too many waterfowl, which can deplete natural food and water sources. Parks overrun with birds will also be overrun with bird droppings. Plus, it鈥檒l make the birds easy targets for dogs and cats that frequent parks.

(Songbird feeders are fine, though鈥斺渇eeding landbirds ,鈥 says Kress. Avoid locations near windows, or any spot that outdoor cats can access easily.)

4. Still want to feed waterbirds? Go native!

Putting native plants in your garden鈥攁nd encouraging local parks to do the same鈥攎akes for an insect-rich environment. Birds evolved to eat insects, and for good reason鈥攖hey鈥檙e a nutritionally-dense meal.

Then, and observe happy birds hanging out, undisturbed.