For Release: July 21, 1998

Contact: Larry Mouradjian 222-2632

PROVIDENCE - A "Don't Feed the Birds" program begun last summer at World War II Veterans Memorial State Park in Woonsocket confirms what officials from the Department of Environmental Management have suspected all along: that the swimming pond's water quality is directly related to the number of birds frequenting the pond area. Although some birds continue to frequent the park, the no feeding program was very successful in greatly reducing the number of birds and is still in place.

Birds become a water quality issue in a pond of this size because of the high levels of fecal coliform and nitrogen in their waste. In a pamphlet handed out to park visitors, the message is blunt: "Birds and swimming don't mix... Just think of it this way. Six birds in the pond add about the same number of fecal coliform bacteria as a restroom used by 33 people."

The pamphlet discourages people from feeding the birds, explaining that if the bacteria from bird waste reaches a certain level, the pond must be closed to swimming. Because World War II Park is small, passing along advice by word of mouth has been an effective means of limiting bird feeding - and last year the pond was not closed on any occasion to swimming, indicating that park visitors partial to feeding the birds paid attention.

To test the bird vs. water quality theory, last summer DEM park managers recorded the number and types of birds at several areas of the pond in a daily survey, as well as the number of swimmers. Water sampling was done at those same areas on a semi-weekly basis for six weeks, in addition to the weekly water quality compliance testing. Although the water quality remained well within levels acceptable for swimming, the highest fecal coliform counts were recorded on days when pigeons (and sometimes the people who feed them) congregated near the beach area.

According to the data provided by DEM park managers, pigeons populate the beach, ducks swim on the upper pond, and gulls are scattered throughout the pond. Pigeons, they found, are the easiest to remove: when rangers made their 7 a.m. rounds, the pigeons dispersed. Ducks were persistent, though they seemed to stay in the upper pond out of the swimming area. The gulls were attracted to the short grass because they could eat the grass seed and still see the rest of their flock.

The most important parts of bird control, the DEM Planning and Development report summarizing the collected data concluded, are to minimize the food source and to concentrate deterrents at the beginning of the season, before birds get entrenched in their places. Park managers attempted these measures by beginning the "No Feeding the Birds Program" well before last summer's swimming season began.

World War II Memorial State Park, on Social Street in Woonsocket, is free and open for swimming from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.