ALL IS `DUCKY' WITH DUCKS IN CITY PARK

Ducks and Capaha Park seem to go together naturally.

No one really knows just how the first duck came to be in the small water impoundment at Capaha Park, but one thing's for sure: they took to the lagoon like what else ducks take to water.

"We've had ducks at the lagoon a long time," said Dan Muser of the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department.

At one time the lagoon was almost covered with ducks and geese, but the waterfowl population has narrowed to ducks only now.

"We've had population explosions there on occasion," said Muser. "When that happens, we know several people who have farm ponds and would like to have a few waterfowl on them."

That was the case a few years ago, when tame geese started taking over at the park, said Muser.

"We had more than 100 ducks and geese there," Muser said. "The geese were pretty brave. They had no qualms about pecking at small children. They became a nemesis, and we gave them to some area farmers. It was an unhealthy situation."

The ducks, however, appear to be more friendly, he said.

"We have no problems with them," he said. "We feed the ducks, children feed the ducks and adults feed them everyone enjoys feeding the ducks."

On a cold day recently, no ducks were spotted on the water. Several telephone calls later, it was found that everything was just "ducky" the park's webbed-footed residents were just staying inside the small duck house on an island in the lagoon.

"We still have the ducks," said Muser. "On occasion, they'll get away from the outdoor weather elements. Sometimes people wonder what's happened to them."

The ducks have also been known to "wander around" some.

"They've even crossed the main road Broadway," said Muser. "In years past, when there was a heavy population, some of them crossed the road to nest. There wasn't enough room to nest on the lagoon island."

The ducks have no problem getting enough to eat.

"We feed them through the winter months," said Muser. "And a lot of people feed them all year round. Of course, there's plenty of food in the lagoon during the summer months."

"One lady calls us frequently," said Muser. "She wants to know if we have fed the ducks yet. Usually, she'll go by the lagoon with a sack full of bread or corn. There's seldom a shortage of willing diners."

The feeding of many birds can be enjoyable to people, and it can bring a variety of birds into your own backyard during the winter.

A simple homemade feeder filled with a good mix of seed will keep birds lively on even the coldest days.

The Missouri Department of Conservation suggests a number of bird feeds in its "Back Yard Birds" pamphlet.

Perhaps the best all-around feed for the money is a mixture of millet, milo and sunflower, notes the DOC. The sunflower should make up at least 15 percent of the mix.

Chicken scratch (feed) or straight cracked corn, purchased by 50-pound bags are probably the cheapest grains, but they attract too many starlings and sparrows, says the DOC.

Some people prefer to feed straight sunflower, but this can be expensive. However, it will attract cardinals, goldfinches, purple finches, bluejays and other welcome birds. However, sunflower seed may also attract squirrels to your feeder.

One DOC spokesman says he buys a couple of 50-pound bags of the cheaper mixes and one 50-pound bag of straight sunflower seed, which is all mixed together, making 150 pounds of feed which carry bird lovers through the winter.

At the other end of the economic scale is suet. For a few dollars it's possible to get enough suet to take the birds through the winter, and an amazing number of birds will use it says the DOC.

Bread, cookie crumbs and several types of table scraps are also good and inexpensive. Cooking fats mixed with cornbread and stuffed in an old pine cone or piece of wood with bored holes, also works well.

But, one of the finest bird feeds is probably peanut butter, either plain or mixed with fat and corn meal says the Department of Conservation pamphlet. This may cost a lot, though, and except as a special treat in bad weather it can get expensive.