By Shari Kaplan
The Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department is conducting a duck- and goose-placement program as part of its overall effort to reduce the numbers of waterfowl residing at Vasona Lake County Park.
According to department spokeswoman Tamara Clark-Shear, Vasona is home to more than 600 domestic waterfowl, with ducks more prevalent than geese. The large domestic population is a result of careless or uninformed people releasing unwanted pet birds in the park.
The placement program is part of an interpretive management plan that aims to reduce the number of domestic waterfowl at Vasona and thus, the overcrowded conditions that can lead to interbreeding, less habitat space, increased stress and outbreaks of avian diseases.
Another facet of the management plan is to educate the public on the type of feeding appropriate for waterfowl. By mid-to late-July, restricted feeding areas should be in place in the park, with coin-operated vending machines supplying visitors with a handful of healthy grain pellets for feeding ducks and geese.
People who are interested in adopting domestic ducks or geese--wild ones will remain in the park--must view a 10-minute slide presentation on waterfowl and sign an agreement for placement. No more than five ducks or geese can be placed in a home over a one-year period, and the birds cannot be re-released or permitted to breed.
"Typically, because they've been so taught to be hand-fed, that's the environment they'll thrive in--at a person's home," Clark-Shear says. She says the probability is low of the birds flying away from the hospitable yard and food provided by an adoptive family. "If they were to do that, then they'd have flown away from the park, too," she adds.
About 45 to 50 birds have been placed so far. For more information, call Vasona Lake County Park at 356-2729.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, June 19, 1996.
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