‘Duck Lady’s’ Roost May Be Scene of Crime

And you thought barking dogs were a nuisance.

In a suburban squabble that has escalated into a full-blown criminal case, neighbors in Villa Park have lined up against a woman with a love of wild ducks--a love so strong that she put out 50 to 75 pounds of corn for them each day.

For two years, at the height of the season, up to 600 ducks would flock into Judy Simons’ backyard every day for breakfast. But what Simons thought was charming, her neighbors found raucous and filthy--duck droppings that caked their cars, roofs and backyard furniture.

And now, after months of complaining, plus a public-nuisance hearing and a city ordinance drafted to ban the feeding of wild ducks, the “duck lady” may wind up facing trial.

The city has filed criminal charges against Simons for violating the ordinance. If found guilty, she faces up to six months in jail.

Her lawyer contends that Simons has stopped feeding the ducks; they continue to stop by, however, because the feedings changed their migratory pattern.

What’s playing out in the small town in east Orange County, where the median family income is $103,000, is little more than a study of what happens when good-hearted people dabble in nature--and the elements of nature that run afoul of homeowner values.

Neither Simons nor her neighbors would consent to interviews about the ducks; their story is laid out by attorneys representing both sides.

Simons, better known around Villa Park as the “duck lady,” first started by feeding an injured mallard duckling, said her lawyer, Vincent LaBarbera.

As Simons nursed the mallard to health, more ducks visited her backyard pool. As any duck lover might, she fed them. At first, it was a novelty. She captured the flock on videotape and sent the recording to “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” She even won a prize, Villa Park City Manager Fred Maley said.

But the ducks started flocking. Her neighbors complained when they found themselves unable to hold backyard barbecues and Sunday brunches without being bombarded by duck droppings. It sounded like rain pelting the rooftops, neighbors said.

Their complaints were bolstered by animal-rights groups and state Fish and Game officials who cautioned Simons not to interfere with wild animals because it would shift their migration patterns.

“They told her to leave the ducks alone, just like when you go to a national park and they say, ‘Don’t feed the bears,’ ” Maley said.

After the complaints--and after the city passed a tailor-made ordinance making it a misdemeanor to feed wild ducks--Simons promised to stop.

But the ducks kept coming.

Her neighbors, Dale and Rhonda Hughes, complained again. They went to City Hall, armed with photographs of their soiled lawn chairs and children’s toys. They took a videotape indicating that, despite Simons’ promise, she hadn’t stopped feeding the ducks.

When the city got wind that the ducks were still around, it filed two misdemeanor counts against Simons, accusing her of violating the duck-feeding ordinance.

“So here we are,” Maley said. City Atty. Leonard Hampel added, “It doesn’t seem like it should have to come to this.”

LaBarbera’s busy defending a man facing murder conspiracy charges, so the duck case has been continued until next month.

“They’ve taken this too far,” he said. The city, he said, had other options, such as filing a civil injunction. Instead, they’ve chosen to put Simons through “this agony of a criminal process.”

City officials hope the whole flap can be resolved peacefully. They’d like to move on and would prefer people stop talking about the ducks that seem to be making an unnecessary pit stop in Villa Park. Duck droppings don’t exactly make for civic dignity.

“We’re a small town,” Maley said, “and when something like this comes up, word gets around.”