We’ve been feeding the ducks at Gillies Lake for years. Now, however, the Mattagami Region Conservation Authority is asking us not to.
That request gets a hearty endorsement from Roxane Filion. She’s a volunteer with the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas.
Filion says ducks are capable of getting all their nutrition in the wild. Human feeding results in crowding, which can reduce water quality, cause disease, and make the ducks easier targets for predators.
“We love them,” she remarks. “We want to see them wild and we want to see them get the nutrition they need from the natural habitat.”
Feeding makes the ducks dependent on it, and they lose their natural fear of people.
Filion suggests instead of feeding them, take photos of the ducks, and don’t ignore other birds around the lake.
“Take a walk around, look in the shrubs. You’ll see little colourful yellow warblers, you’ll see American redstarts. You can have a connection to the birds without feeding them.”
