Hullo Michael,
Of course when I first saw the Hedgely Dene report I assumed it was
bread-assisted botulism.
Over in Heidelberg, we've had a fine swamp at Banyule Flats, enlarged in
1999. Swans appeared and started nesting, plus ducks etc. and kind
people at once turned up with bread - sometimes literally by the sackful
- and started feeding the birds. I'm glad to say Banyule City Council
promptly put up some notices "Please don't feed the birds. Bread is not
a healthy food for them. Their natural food is plants and bugs in the
Swamp." And the bread problem largely ceased.
A similar notice is at Wilson Reserve at the Bailey Billabong, but
the notice is sometimes vandalized and the 'not' scratched out.
Likewise the notice which discourages dogs from swimming in the
billabong. It's a much smaller and more accessible park. At present
there are few birds on the Billabong - but when present they have a
definite tendency to gather close to visiting humans.
I think notices need to say definitely "Birds don't need bread," with
explanation- much better than just a "please don't feed the birds". Far
too many city people believe that bread is the right food and ducks will
starve without it.
Cheers,
Anthea Fleming
michael norris wrote:
The Age reported (20/1) on at least 18 ducks dying at Hedgeley Dene,
part of the Glen Iris wetlands in the City of Stonnington.
As the paper said "...It might be a perfect place to spend an afternoon
feeding the ducks..."
They included a picture of a Mallard, not a species you would expect in
a place designed inspired by "a strong belief that open space along the
Gardiners Creek Valley should serve an ecological and educational role,
rather than being purely recreational and ornamental".
This week (28/1) they said the cause was botulism. Not suprising: one
of our members warned this could happen if people continued to feed
bread to ducks in our parks. A soggy lump of bread is a great culture
medium for the bacterium.
Some people can't stop themselves, despite signs about obesity,
pollution....., from feeding ducks. So please tell them this story to
underline that they should give as little bread as possible.
Michael Norris
Bayside Friends of Native Wildlife
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