Curtailing Muscovy feeding, limiting hatchings on table
Taylor’s waterfowl population is exploding, and officials say they can no longer duck the issue.
City Council members are discussing ways to curb breeding among Muscovy ducks, which officials say are overrunning Murphy Park and prompting habitat concerns.
“We know we love the ducks. We are the ducks. But sometimes you can have too many ducks,” said Parks Director Tyler Bybee, alluding to ducks as the mascot for Taylor High School and the city.
According to a presentation during the June 26 council session, overpopulation of ducks poses a health hazard in the park. Picnic tables are contaminated with duck feces, making them unsafe for families to eat at, officials added.
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We love the ducks. We are the ducks. But sometimes you can have too many ducks.”
— Tyler Bybee, Taylor parks director In addition, duck waste — which carries harmful bacteria — coats play structures and walkways, and poses contamination risks for water and soil.
Ducks have been known to carry bird flu, a disease transmittable to humans, the council heard.
Staffers outlined a plan to educate residents not to feed the ducks and to prevent some ducklings from hatching in a process called egg addling.
Euthanasia is another option, staffers told the council.
Many residents agreed the ducks have become a problem and asked the council to take action.
“Egg management does not decrease the number of Muscovies now,” said resident Jackie Krueger. “We are cleaning feces off our driveways, sidewalks, porches and railings and on vehicles every day. Last year’s drought restrictions had us using a broom and a bucket of water multiple times a day. Then if you drive through it, it’s in your garage and can be carried into your home on your shoes.”
Bybee asked the council to consider adding about $20,000 to the next budget to hire a professional management company to carry out the egg addling.
He is also working with city staff to create a communications plan to inform people about the dangers of feeding ducks and geese.
Though there is no city ordinance prohibiting feeding, Mayor Dwayne Ariola said he was willing to consider one.
Council members also directed Bybee to bring more information to a future session regarding egg addling and euthanasia of adult ducks.
One reason it has taken so long for the city to take steps to reduce overpopulation is the ducks and other waterfowl are beloved by many in and around Taylor.
Murphy Park is home to the largest inland rookery in the state.
It is a tourist spot for Taylor, drawing photographers looking for everything from the city’s Mallard mascots to northern pintails and black-bellied whistling ducks. But the largest population of ducks in Taylor is the Muscovy, recognizable by the bumpy red glands on their faces.
“We do have some issues with ducks leaving the parks and going in the neighborhoods. Most of these ducks are Muscovy. They are not a pretty duck,” Bybee said. “They are a large duck and there’s a problem with them. They are not native to the area. They can be aggressive.”
Muscovy ducks are fighters and survivors. The females lay more eggs than most other duck breeds, up to 14 at a time. The males will mate with other species, creating hybrid ducklings and decreasing the competing duck populations. Muscovies will also chase other ducks and egrets away from feeding areas. And they adapt well to urban areas, leading to more cities facing the types of issues Taylor is seeing.
“When it comes to the Muscovies, they’re invasive so they can’t be transported somewhere else because no one else wants that problem. So (the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department) won’t get on board with us trapping them and taking them to another town or another place. So the options are management of the eggs or we kill the ducks,” Bybee said.
Egg addling leaves the intact eggs in the nest but prevents them from hatching. The practice requires several eggs to hatch from each nest, otherwise the mother will simply lay more eggs. It reduces the number of live hatchlings from a dozen or more to just three or four, officials said.
The parks director said the ducks’ overpopulation and aggressiveness is tied to people feeding the avians. The time-honored tradition of bringing children to the lake with a loaf of bread is a habit proving hard to break.
In addition, as the council learned, not everyone living near the park is against the ducks. Some even have feeding stations and small ponds set up to attract the ducks to their homes.
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We are cleaning feces off our driveways, sidewalks, porches and railings and on vehicles every day.”
— Jackie Krueger
