What to Feed Newburgh's Ducks

Sorry, kids: Turns out, bread is one of the worst things you can feed ducks. i know you love to go down to the river to throw stale bits of bread into the water and watch them flock (get it? “Flock?”) to you, but it’s actually bad for them when you do that. Here’s why:

1. It fills them up with non-nutritious food. They love it, though, just like we all love candy, potato chips and other junk food! But it expands in their stomachs so that they can’t get the nourishing food they need.

2. Too many handouts interferes with baby ducks’ ability to learn to forage for the stuff they need to grow and be healthy, and prevents them from being hungry for that nutritious food.

3. Uneaten pieces of bread turn moldy. Green mold causes lung disease in ducks, in addition to attracting rats, insects and other vermin.

4. Too much bread (which they LOVE, don’t forget) not only makes ducks sick and dependent on humans, but also causes them to become aggressive when large flocks see people at the river’s edge. They waddle on up to you and peck at you and won’t leave you alone.

   So, what should we feed ducks instead of bread, popcorn, potato chips and pastries of any kind? Here are some alternatives:

   • cracked corn, which can be bought online or at farm stores;

   • frozen peas or frozen corn, defrosted (cooking not necesary)

   • barley or rice (cooked or raw)

   • plain, uncooked oats

   • grapes, cut in half, so they don’t choke (ducks cannot chew)

   • mealworms, which you can buy online, in pet stores or the pet-food sections of some supermarkets — but they’re very expensive

   • natural greens like cut grass and weeds (these can be fed to ducks in any quantity)

     Bottom line: i’m hoping to talk our City Council into springing for a couple of duck-food dispensers to install down at the river. i’ve seen them in other cities; for something like a quarter, they dispense a handful of cracked corn or other nutritious duck-food. There’s one company that installs solar-powered dispensers. Cool, right? And good for our ducks!

No bread for this beautiful fellow, please! keep hudson-river ducks healthy!

"COMMON" Whitetail Dragonfly? Hah!

Saw this gorgeous creature on my front steps today, and found out, thanks to the App “Seek,” that it’s a “Common Whitetail” dragonfly. You call it “common”; i call it “beautiful.”

i hope they’re still common, and not disappearing like so many other species. stay around my house, little fellow!

A Great Day at Muchattoes Lake

Saturday, June 10 was a great day of kayaking, exploring our city and learning about a wonderful urban trail-in-the-making here in Newburgh. The Quassaick Creek Watershed Alliance, the Newburgh Rowing Club, the city’s Conservation Advisory Council and others organized this day to show off Muchattoes Lake as a fascinating site for recreation and outdoor adventure — soon (please, G-d) to be an important part of the Quassaick Creek Trail from the Hudson River to Crystal Lake.

For several hours

Hikers, joggers and birders, take note!

newburgh’s environmental justice fellows, thanks to the Greater newburgh parks conservancy’s kathy lawrence, took part in the festivities to get to know a little-known, wild and wonderful part of our city. Carol Lawrence, bottom left, greeted all attendees and registered them for activities including kayaking on the lake and walking the future trail around it,

Shrew on a Shoe!

Kudos to @NYSDEC for the amazing photo by Rhyan Maier on the back cover of the Aug/Sept issue of the Conservationist. It inspired me to pen a commemorative poem:

A day so mild, and a sky so blue, / But look! Something weird is on your shoe. / Now just one photo, then shake that shrew, / ‘Cause those things have venomous spit! (Who knew?)

Good job, Rhyan Maier! We may never see a photo like this again.

NEWBURGH AGAIN WINS “TREE CITY USA” RECOGNITION

For the 17th year in a row, the City of Newburgh has been named a “Tree City USA” by the Nebraska-based Arbor Day Foundation. The award recognizes nationwide excellence in municipal tree planting and maintenance. A city must spend at least $2 per capita on trees, have a tree ordinance and a tree council, and celebrate Arbor Day each year in order to win the award.

“We are proud to be recognized for the funding, time and effort we expend on maintaining and expanding our urban forest,” said Chuck Thomas, chair of the city’s Conservation Advisory Council. “We look at this award as a badge of honor for our city. Trees moderate temperatures, provide shade and beauty, clean our air, and result in a mentally and physically healthier populace.”

“Arbor Day is April 29 this year, and we look forward to celebrating it with the whole community.”

Thomas noted that the City’s Department of Public Works is the linchpin of Newburgh’s success in urban forestry, providing the crucial management, workers and equipment needed for this physically demanding and time-consuming work.

Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation and education organization dedicated to inspiring people to plant, celebrate and nurture trees.

Chuck Thomas, chair of Newburgh’s Conservation Advisory Council, displays the “Tree City USA” plaque and signs that the City has won for the 17th year in a row. Way to go, Newburgh!