As the baby ducks and geese are starting to appear at area ponds and lakes, Peachtree City officials are reminding residents that feeding wildlife like ducks and geese can cause a variety of problems and is actually be harmful to the birds.
Feeding popcorn, bread, or shelled corn is like feeding a child junk food, since the geese are not receiving a balanced diet. It takes up room in their stomachs so they don’t eat the foods they need. Lack of balanced diet can even cause deformity in the juvenile birds, hindering their ability to fly.
Feeding ducks and geese causes overcrowding at ponds and lakes, allowing diseases such as botulism and cholera to spread easily and possibly result in large bird die-offs.
Overcrowding leads to additional problems, such as damage to lawns and vegetation, and pounds of “goose poop” that can accumulate in parks and areas frequented by children. Regularly fed ducks and geese will lose their natural fear of humans, which can lead to violent bird-on-human attacks during the nesting season. Most injuries from geese occur when the person is backing away from the attacking gander and trips over a curb, planter, bumper block, or steps.
Overfeeding can leave food the ducks and geese do not eat, attracting mice, rats, and other wildlife, which then attract predators such as foxes and coyotes.
In the past, Peachtree City has had to pay for the removal of large flocks of Canada Geese from waterways due to the problems above at adjoining parks and playgrounds. Private property owners have similar problems along the paths and at the various ponds throughout Peachtree City.
Birds that become a nuisance, and their nests, might be destroyed (permit from the Department of Fish and Wildlife required). For more information, visit www.georgiawildlife.com/node/2098.
