At 12:08 AM 7/15/98 EDT, Hughbirder at aol.com wrote:

>I am increasingly concerned about the effects of people feeding waterfowl,
>especially human food such as loaves of Wonder Bread, chips etc.
>
>Certainly it must harm their digestive systems and contribute to the
>contamination of lakes and streams. Do you know if this behavior results in
>overpopulation and/or the inability to migrate?
>
>I would like to discourage friends from doing this, but need some real facts
>to back up my rantings.
>
>I would appreciate any help you could offer. Thanks! Cynthia

Yes and no. Yes, in that feeding waterfowl tends to keep them around,
fouling park waters. Does it contribute to the "inability" to migrate?
I'm not sure - migration is at its ultimate a response to shifting food
supplies by season. Migration patterns shift from year-to-year based
on the variation in food supply due to the variability in climate. If
there's food at hand, why migrate (dangerous, kills birds) when you can
sit and eat?

Overall, though, urbanized waterfowl form a tiny percentage of the population,
and from the conservation point of view aren't a factor. Introduced exotics,
which might spread, being excepted from this opinion.

Oh, damn, I almost forgot to say "The Word". :)


- Don Baccus, Portland OR <dhogaza at pacifier.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, and other goodies at
http://donb.photo.net