While ducks dwindle with botulism, geese thrive

There's a lot of honking — not too much quacking.

One month after a case of avian botulism was deemed responsible for several dead ducks at Ellis Lake, geese have all but taken over the site.

Geese, unaffected by bacteria responsible for the outbreak, surround human visitors by the dozen, sometimes ganging up on an unsuspecting picnicker. Live ducks, meanwhile, are unusually scarce these days.

"This thing really went through there fast and wiped a lot out," said Dale Whitmore, a local biologist for the California Department of Fish and Game.

On Wednesday afternoon, about 25 ducks — mostly solitary, but some in pairs or small groups — were keeping a low profile.

Nearby, geese by the hundreds announced their presence in, over, and beside the lake.

A dozen dead ducks floated mostly upside down, mostly on the lake's north side.

Near 14th Street on the south side of the lake, an opaque layer of algae masked whatever might be beneath the surface.

It is algae — especially algae rotting in high temperatures — according to a U.S. Geological Service website, that usually leads to avian botulism outbreaks.

By reducing inhabitants' access to oxygen, the vegetation helps kill off animals, including fish. Fly larvae — maggots — carry botulism, and when ducks and certain other waterfowl or shore birds feed on the maggots, they become ill.

Often, dead ducks provide the protein source for maggots, and contribute to the decline of the remaining duck population. The best way to slow the process, according to Whitmore, is to dispose of dead animals as soon as possible.

But maintenance workers in the city now are as scarce as the ducks.

Manpower has been severely curtailed in recent years by declines in revenue, and the resulting budget cuts.

"I hated to see what happened," said City Services Director Dave Lamon. "But unless you patrol the lake frequently, you're going to miss them (dead animals)."

The patrols have been more frequent than usual since the start of the outbreak, Lamon said.

But they've been no match for the botulism, which affects a duck's nervous system, and paralyzes muscles in the neck and elsewhere. Birds with paralyzed neck muscles cannot hold their heads up, and often drown.

Outbreaks such as these are a species' natural way of thinning its own population for survival's sake.

In years past, the city relocated some of the waterfowl from Ellis Lake to keep existing populations healthy, and to keep the flocks from becoming a nuisance.

But the procedure, which requires trapping, transporting and releasing the animals in the riverbottoms and elsewhere, is labor-intensive.

On Wednesday, Cheryl DeForest, 62, of Marysville, sat on a bench by the lake and marveled at what she saw.

"I think it's real sad," she said. "I haven't been here in a while, and I can't believe all this garbage."

DeForest said she thinks the city should do more to employ available resources such as U.C. Extension students, local school kids, or youth from Juvenile Hall (a county institution) to help clean up the area and care for the animal population.

"I know everybody's really strapped," she said, "but nobody's taking time to think about all the places we could get help for this."

A cleaner environment, and more frequent use of a water pump to dilute Ellis Lake, would improve the health of the animal populations there, Whitmore said.

As for a lack of ducks, Lamon said the circumstance is temporary.

"They like the free food (at Ellis Lake) better than out in nature," he said. "They'll be back."

CONTACT Nancy Pasternack at 749-4712 or at npasternack@appealdemocrat.com.