Don't feed the ducks! says Royal Parks charity

Tap above to watch the full report by Katie Barnfield

It seems like a harmless lockdown activity, taking little ones to feed the ducks. But the Royal Parks are warning that they are being fed so much they're starting to bully each other.

Hyde Park attracts almost 13 million visits a year and its popularity results in high volumes of wildlife feeding, which is upsetting the park's delicate ecosystem.

The charity has released a video showing the scale of the feeding that takes place at the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park. The video, filmed in May 2021, shows birds being fed 15 times in a two-hour period by a small stretch of the lake.

Video credit: The Royal Parks

According to the charity, excessive feeding in the parks encourages large groups of birds such as gulls and crows. They bully other birds, stealing their eggs and killing their chicks. Leftover food can attract rats, and water quality can be impacted through uneaten soggy bread and waterfowl faeces.

Feeding from the public also attracts large numbers of waterfowl, which leads to overcrowding and stress, and helps wildlife diseases spread.

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