Don’t feed the ducks: royal parks warn of bullying bird behaviour after lockdown

Exclusive: excessive feeding as visitors flocked to London's green spaces has led to overcrowding, disease and pollution

London's royal parks are urging visitors to stop feeding bread to ducks because it is causing overcrowding and bullying among birds, the Guardian can reveal.

A campaign launching today highlights how excessive feeding upsets fragile ecosystems, leading to large groups of aggressive gulls and crows that steal the eggs and chicks of other birds. Leftover food also attracts rats, and soggy bread and waterfowl faeces contaminate the water.