Graveyard's geese and ducks will be homeless come winter

By CRISTINA BAUTISTA, Portland Press Herald Writer

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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Staff photo by John Patriquin The domesticated geese at Evergreen Cemetery have long been an attraction for residents who enjoy feeding them.

Nearly two dozen ducks and geese in Portland's Evergreen Cemetery need homes before winter.

The city is tearing down a cemetery equipment shed and an attached lean-to that shelters the ducks and geese during the winter.

The shed will be replaced, but the new structure won't have a lean-to. The Parks and Recreation Department doesn't have anyone trained to care for the fowl, or money to hire someone for the job, said Assistant Director Tom Civiello.

"We're stretched thin, personnel-wise," Civiello said. "It's not fair for those ducks and geese, and they'd really be much better off in a farm situation."

The shed is in poor condition, and the city is seeking estimates to build its replacement, said city spokesman Peter DeWitt.

Efforts are under way to place the ducks and geese at farms or homes, and volunteers have stepped forward to adopt some, he said.

DeWitt estimates the domesticated ducks and geese cost the city between $5,000 and $8,000 per year in labor and feed. The birds get free veterinary care at Stoneledge Veterinary Hospital in Westbrook, said Brooke Smothers, a technician at the hospital.

A full-time caretaker used to care for, and clean up after, the birds at the cemetery on Stevens Avenue, but the employee retired last year and the city doesn't have the resources to fill the job right now, Civiello said.

Evergreen Cemetery has had ducks and geese for nearly a century. The birds are a popular attraction for residents, said Annette Kearney, who frequently walks her dog through the cemetery and feeds the birds.

"People of all ages, races and income levels go to feed the ducks and geese," she said.

Kearney said the city's decision against replacing the shelter was based solely on a "complete lack of will."

"They're domesticated, so they can't fly. When the water freezes, they'll be stuck there," she said. "The city just dumps them there. They just want them gone."

Civiello said many wild mallards and gulls use the pond and are expected to continue doing so even after the city-owned fowl leave.

"It's really not going to be much of a change in the experience of the area," he said.

Peter Morelli, a member of the now-defunct Friends of Evergreen Cemetery, said that removing the birds may reduce maintenance requirements at the pond because the nitrogen in bird droppings stimulates weed growth.

The association, which is re-forming, worked with city and cemetery officials on development plans in the past.

"It could definitely be a good thing, but also pretty unpopular," Morelli said of the city's decision to relocate the domesticated birds.

"Ducks and geese will ultimately always find their way back," he said.

Staff Writer Cristina Bautista can be contacted at 791-6365 or at: