Displaced ducks put city in fowl mood

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- A stealth operation worthy of Saturday morning

cartoons could be simmering. Ducks displaced by the city’s new

waterfowl-feeding law might be nabbed under cover of night. But once the

feathers stop flying, they’ll wake up in a new home not too different

from the one they now know.

Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff is considering ways to deal with

ducks still hanging out on Balboa Island. Since the ordinance that

forbids setting out large containers of food and water went into effect

Feb. 7, there have been reports of marauding groups of ducks and mallards

cruising the alleys in search of food.

But this doesn’t mean everyone’s been obeying the new law. On Feb. 8,

several ducks drank water from a large pan set out on the dock of the

Balboa Island home that some have dubbed “Duck Central.”

And, as if that situation weren’t daffy enough, there’s another

complication. While white ducks, local officials believe, fall under the

jurisdiction of city government, the brown mallards are out of local

hands. Because they’re not classified as “domestic ducks,” they fall

under the purview of the U.S. Department of Fish and Game.

“We’re not sure what the best way is to deal with the problem,” Kiff

said last week.

Officials won’t disclose when or where they might conduct the midnight

roundup. If officials follow through with the idea, the ducks would be

taken to an undisclosed park somewhere inland where their effect on

harbor water quality will be reduced or eliminated.

The city in January passed the law forbidding all but incidental

feeding of ducks. The ordinance, proposed by Balboa Island City

Councilman Steve Bromberg, provided a solution to what some call an

offensive and unhealthful problem on the island and in several other

places in the city.

Duck droppings are high in the bacteria that prompt beach closures and

no-swimming warnings. To some, they are also highly unpleasant, and

inspired comments such as “disgusting” and “awful” from some Balboa

Island residents at the Dec. 11 City Council meetings.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .

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