Texarkana relocates city park's waterfowl

Pond dredging project in the works

TEXARKANA -- Spring Lake Park's domesticated ducks and geese are moving so work crews can dredge the park's empty pond.

Texarkana, Texas, officials hired the animal control contractor Little's Critter to capture and transport the waterfowl that are too accustomed to people at the park to seek another habitat.

The roundup, which began Wednesday, was to last through the weekend. Little's Critter will take the birds to Karrh Park and Grady T. Wallace Park.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials originally recommended leaving the ducks and geese to migrate on their own, but few if any have left the park since the pond was drained earlier this month. Residents expressed concern for the birds, so wildlife officials said they could be moved.

Using the agency's own guidelines, Texarkana, Texas, Parks and Recreation Department staff have identified 25 to 30 birds to relocate.

Capturing them is easier when few people are in the park distracting the birds, especially since the dredging project is getting a lot of attention, department Director Robby Robertson said.

"There's a lot of people driving through, and a lot of people stopping, and a lot of people just walking around and looking at the lake project. That makes it harder to try and corral [the ducks and geese] and catch them," he said.

Mike Little with Little's Critter said the bulk of his work is removing wild animals such as raccoons, squirrels and bats from buildings where they are unwanted.

"They're damaging enough, and I stay busy. I've got a guy who's got coons in his office walls right now I've got to go get out," he said.

Little is using netting strategically placed near the birds' only remaining source of water to capture them, taking care not to hurt them in the process.

"I'm not worried about the ducks. It's the geese I'm trying to get first. They're the hard ones. You get those big old geese, and they fight," he said.

The city is dredging the pond for the first time, removing accumulated silt to deepen it from 3 feet to 10 feet. The work will take about three to four months.

Texarkana's Tatum Excavating Co. made the winning bid for the project, expected to cost about $875,000. It is being funded through the Texas city's Capital Improvement Plan, a prioritized long-term schedule of infrastructure development projects to be paid for by municipal bonds.

State Desk on 07/30/2017

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