Too fat to fly / N. Ogden park overrun by ducks staying over for winter

[Donna]

NORTH OGDEN -- The city is having a duck population explosion at Bicentennial Park.

The park, on the corner of Washington Boulevard and Pleasant View Drive, has always been home to a few ducks, and people travel miles to walk the short trail around the stream, feed the ducks and get fresh well water.

For the last few months, the duck population has grown so that, on any given day, 50 to 100 ducks crowd the area. Their droppings cover the walkways, and with the wet, snowy weather, it can be a safety hazard for those walking in the area.

"It is a borderline nuisance," said City Manager Ed Dickie.

He and the mayor have each spoken about the problem and worry that conditions will get out of hand quickly if some of the ducks don't move out.

Part of the problem is that people drop their domesticated ducks at the park. In turn, people feed the birds regularly and the ducks don't leave.

"They are too fat to fly," Dickie said.

He said the domesticated ducks are definitely too fat to fly and the wild ducks are now as well because of the amount of food people are feeding them.

The city is working with the Department of Wildlife Resources to capture some of the ducks and take them to Willard Bay.

City officials tried to solve the problem a month ago by herding ducks to the wetlands area across Washington Boulevard.

"They came back two days later," Dickie said.

He was surprised they all came back, because they had to cross the busy road, and that they did it so quickly.

"If people would stop dropping off their domestic ducks, that would be a start. People think it is a good place for them to live and be happy."

Harrisville resident Curtis Taylor visits Bicentennial Park with his grandchildren at least once a week to look at and feed the ducks. He is an avid duck hunter and likes to look at the birds' markings to see what he needs to look for in the wild ducks as he hunts.

Ogden resident Jeff Moody also visits the park regularly with his daughter, but admits he has noticed a lot more ducks lately.

"I don't think I have ever seen as many," Moody said as he pointed to the pond full of ducks. "There are a lot more than usual here."

He enjoys the activity because it is an inexpensive way to spend time with his daughter and look at nature.

Dickie said that is the point of having the park, but that the city would like to discourage feeding the ducks so much so the fowl can fly south as they should.

City officials think it is odd that so many ducks are still around this late in the year.

"It's really a tough one because we hate to discourage it (feeding the ducks), because it is a fun thing," Dickie said.

Both Dickie and Mayor Gary Harrop have encouraged residents to "adopt a duck" to help the problem.

Dickie pointed out that people shouldn't take the wild ducks, but the domesticated ducks are fair game.

"We don't want anybody shooting them, though," he said.

Ideally, the city would like no more than 10 ducks at the park.