Here’s a release about the ducklings at Marshall Park, 300 S McDowell St., from our friends at the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department:
WILDLIFE EXPERTS RECOMMEND RELOCATING DUCKLINGS FROM MARSHALL PARK; PARKS OFFICIALS NOW AGREE
Charlotte, NC — Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation will allow about 35 ducklings and ducks removed last week from Marshall Park to be relocated to different sites. The ducks were gathered from the park’s concrete pond before the pond was cleaned.
“When the ducklings were rounded-up last Tuesday, we had every intention of bringing them back to Marshall Park when the pond was clean,” said Michael Kirschman, Park and Recreation’s Director of Nature Preserves, “but the certified wildlife specialists who are taking care of the ducklings strongly advised us that is not in their best interests. They told us the ducklings had serious health problems caused by overpopulation in the concrete pond.”
The group’s federally-certified rehabilitators said the ducklings are under-nourished, under-developed, lacking in age-appropriate development of feathers and wings, and displaying overgrown bills (a clear sign of poor health for ducks).
Wildlife specialists recommended that the ducklings be nursed back to health, then be released to rural ponds and lakes that the Carolina Waterfowl Rescue has access to. The ducklings are now being rehabilitated at a facility managed by Carolina Waterfowl Rescue. The group says the ducks will eventually have a much better life in natural surroundings than in an urban, concrete pond.
“We know people like to see waterfowl in Marshall Park,” Kirschman said. “But the experts urged us to do what is best for the ducklings and ducks, and the best thing is not for so many of them to live in a concrete pond, where they are subject to malnutrition and overpopulation.” Some geese and transient ducks will still swim in the concrete pond, but Park and Recreation concluded that reducing their numbers there will promote better health both for the remaining waterfowl and the relocated ducks and ducklings.
Mecklenburg County has an ordinance that prohibits feeding waterfowl in County parks. Carolina Waterfowl Rescue says there is not enough natural food in this urban park to support a large number of ducks.