A never-ending supply of scraps of bread from well meaning visitors to Ferry Meadows Country Park is posing a health danger to the waterfowl which live by the waterside.

Now park rangers are encouraging visitors to be more careful about the type of food they bring to feed the ducks to help keep them fit and healthy.

They say some of the ducks are becoming so heavy their bellies are starting to drag on the ground.

Other illnesses are also becoming more common with some birds suffering from vitamin and mineral deficiency.

A number of ducks are also suffering from a condition known as Angel Wing, caused by a high protein diet.

Factfile: ducks



• In the wild, ducks are omnivores, eating grasses, aquatic plants, fish, insects, small amphibians, worms, and small molluscs.


• Contrary to the urban myth, a duck's quack does echo.


• There are species of duck living on every continent except Antarctica, and can be found in both fresh and sea water.


• There are 19 species of duck to be found in Britain, with the heaviest being the eider. It is also the fastest flying duck in the country.


• The most common is the mallard, with more than 370,000 birds across the country.


• A group of ducks in the air is called a flock, but on the ground they are called a sord.

It means the main flight feathers grow deformed and twisted and stick out from the body, and the deformed feathers are completely useless, making the birds vulnerable to attacks by dogs and foxes.

Visitor services manager at Ferry Meadows Chris Park said: "We assume that because these birds seem ravenous and consume everything scattered before them they must be starving. We also think – quite naively – that we are the only people feeding them.

"Sadly, our perceptions can be very wrong.

"For example, people who see one or two others feeding the ducks and geese may think their little bit more won't hurt.

"But what they notice is just the tip of the iceberg, because for every one or two people they spot there are another 10 they don't."

Mr Park explained that it was a natural instinct of ducks and geese to eat all the food they could, because they would not know where their next meal was coming from.

But because of a diet consisting mainly of white bread, not only were they becoming overweight, but were also suffering from vitamin and mineral deficiency.

Mr Park said that families should still go and feed the birds, but they should be more careful about what they take.

He said: "A few crusts of white or brown bread are OK, just not too much.

"Crushed digestive biscuits or cream crackers are also alright.

"Like us, birds need a balanced diet, and at times they are not getting that.

"Leaving too much food also attracts rats and other vermin."

Head of the wetlands unit at the British Trust for Ornithology, Mark Rehfisth said the problem was common in birds that did not have any real predators.

He said: "Most garden birds tend to have predators and need to stay fit and the fittest stay slim."