Ducks (not Donald!) at Disneyland

Happy New Year! 

I missed my Thursday, New Year’s Eve, post due to my California cold. :(

After returning from a California trip, animal sightings from Southern California are on my mind. My favorite sighting was seeing all the Mallard ducks in Disneyland! 

Mallard ducks, males /Disneyland, off Main Street / December 2015

The Mallard duck seems to be very widespread. We see quite a few populations here in Hawaii; even roaming around the middle school at which I formerly taught. 

The Mallards seem to be like the Sparrow in how frequently one sees them. (Read about the sparrow below.) Although, the Ducks would be more limited as they are usually found near a fresh water source.

An interesting note from my source is “almost all domestic ducks come from this species.” Mallard Duck information

Mallard duck, male /Disneyland, off Main Street / December 2015

As we waited for a parade to start these ducks just roamed in a small area of grass; unfazed by the people all around. We also saw the ducks flying in groups from place to place. 

Mallard duck, male /Disneyland, off Main Street / December 2015

On a different day, I saw the Mallards gathered in great numbers and finally realized they swam around this area waiting for food handouts! It was not a pretty sight to see them begging for human food. One was bold enough to come up and walk around near the tables!

Mallard ducks / Disneyland, below Hungry Bear Restaurant / December 2015

Mallard ducks / Disneyland, below Hungry Bear Restaurant / December 2015

I will repost my notes about NOT feeding birds. 

FROM my September 29 blog posting:

As an aside, please never feed birds that are not pets. (This includes chickens!)

First, our food is unhealthy for them. Second, the birds become used to being fed and come back and then are a nuisance. Third, if birds hang around places for eating, that is very unhealthy for people eating. Their excrement can be on the floor or tables and as the birds fly around, or settle on tables, parasites could be falling from their feathers onto eating areas and even food.

I would now add a fourth. Birds (animals) could come to rely so much on human feeding and then not be able to find their own food when needed.

At this time, the Mallards relying on humans for food is especially bad since this Disneyland waterway will most likely temporarily disappear due to future construction of the new Star Wars theme park. (“The river will be partially drained and diverted to the Orange County Water District’s Groundwater Replenishment system.”) That will affect all these birds that make their home here. Hopefully the Mallards only live in Disneyland for the winter! About closings due to Star Wars theme park construction

Out of curiosity, I looked up sparrows and found the common sparrow seen is a House Sparrow. Here is a quote confirming what I feel about sparrows. “Along with two other introduced species, the European Starling and the Rock Pigeon, these are some of our most common birds.” Sparrow information 

The Rock Pigeon Bird photos from Hawaii is also found in Hawaii; I do not think we have any Starlings in Hawaii. Rock Pigeon / Dove in Hawaii

It is interesting to compare maps about distribution of the Mallard Duck and the House Sparrow. Of course, neither map includes Hawaii, where both are found. Looking at the distribution maps of these commonly sighted birds makes me wonder: 

1) Did the House Sparrow and Mallard Duck fly all this way to be found in Hawaii or were they “pets” first?

2) Is either bird that common over the whole world?