BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CRESTVIEW HILLS -- Cheetos, doughnuts and crackers are attracting droves of unwanted visitors to a small pond off Turkeyfoot Road at Thomas More College.
The free meals for ducks and geese at the shallow pond have resulted in a crowding problem, which has contributed to the deaths of dozens of the birds at the pond.
Avian botulism, an often fatal poisoning resulting from the toxin produced by bacteria, has also contributed to the birds' deaths, experts say.
"It's an easy meal, and birds are opportunists," said Michele Kline, owner of the Wild Bird Center in Fort Mitchell.
Campaign begins
Four wildlife enthusiasts set out Sunday to try to curb the problem of crowding. Ms. Kline, Gayle Pille and Mike Strohm of the Kenton County Conservation District and volunteer Linda Altevers posted four signs. They asked people to not feed the birds and explained why they can get sick from being fed by humans. They also installed wooden nesting boxes on the back of the poles that hold the signs.
"I hope it will help," Ms. Kline said.
Feeding the ducks and geese, she said, is "a family thing (at the pond). People love to do it, and they think they're helping them. I just want them to know that they're hurting, rather than helping, the ducks and geese at this pond."
The period between July and September is when outbreaks of avian botulism are most likely to occur in Greater Cincinnati, said Ms. Kline, a federal and state licensed wild bird rehabilitator.
In 1996, 75 percent of the ducks and geese at the Thomas More pond died from what U.S. Fish and Wildlife experts confirmed as an outbreak of avian botulism.
In August, a concerned individual brought two very lethargic baby mallards to Ms. Kline. They died, and she suspects that avian botulism killed them.
The problem of crowding is compounded in the spring when people buy "Easter ducks" and decide to discard them at the pond because they realize they can't raise the birds.
Ms. Kline and the conservation district are working with Thomas More biologists Drs. William Bryant and John Ferner to aerate the water and clean up the pond, but they say its crucial that people stop feeding the ducks.
Ms. Kline said Sunday's effort was the first organized event to help curb the problem of crowding at the pond and educate people about its effects.
