World Photo by Madeline Steege A drake mallard preens next to Mingus Lake in downtown Coos Bay. The lake is a hangout for ducks hankering for bread crumbs, and with that ample food supply comes a lot of little messes on the pathway.

Question: I want to know what is being done to limit the number of ducks residing at Mingus Park. While ducks are nice, there are way too many of them and their deposits make walking hazardous and unpleasant. I feel two or four of each kind is enough and routine maintenance of those numbers is necessary. The walks should be hosed off weekly to prevent the spread of disease.

Answer: Don’t hold your breath. Those pesky poopers aren’t going anywhere unless migratory clocks tell them it’s time to get out of town.

Steve Doty, operations administrator for the city’s public works and development department, said Coos Bay has limited success when it comes to dislodging feathered free-loaders. Pigeons were a problem at the city’s boardwalk, but nothing seemed to work, Doty said. Fake owls didn’t scare them. Spikes and goo on ledges only seemed to encourage nesting. And the birds weren’t bothered by a noise machine. They sat on it.

“Our experience is nothing works,” Doty said.

Well, almost nothing. The city spent between $3,000 and $4,000 to put netting and boards in the boardwalk structure to discourage roosting. So far, the results are encouraging, Doty said.

As for ducks and other fowl that alight at Mingus Park, there aren’t any plans to construct a massive netting structure to keep them out.

“The problem is, people like to feed them,” Doty said.

The birds, which include ducks, geese and gulls, wander onto the walkways where they do their business.

Doty said city staff clean the paths at least twice a week, and sometimes more if animals have been particularly busy.

But staff aren’t going out to shoo the birds away. Migratory birds are off-limits because they are protected and the city has no interest in taking measures to exterminate animals.

“They fly in and out,” he said. “We can’t control them.”

(I Want to Know is a regular feature of The World, offering readers a chance to anonymously ask questions and have reporters pursue answers. Those interested can send questions to by e-mail to news@theworld link.com.)