DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - The Decatur Park District is urging people to stop feeding water fowl as four Canadian Geese show signs of a wing deformity.

The wing deformity is called "Angel Wing Syndrome." It's a condition that affects mostly waterfowl that can be caused by nutritional deficiency in vitamins and minerals, combined with a high level of carbohydrates and sugars.

According to Dr. Eric Bollinger at Eastern Illinois University, not a lot of research is done on the condition, but he said there are signs that people feeding the birds foods like bread, donuts and french fries can cause major issues.

"Angel Wing is a growth deformity and it causes the wings instead of lying flat against the body, it creates an odd angel that looks sort of like angel wings," Bollinger said. 

This condition can affect the birds' ability to fly. Clay Gerhard, director of operations for the Decatur Park District, said officials have had a problem with people feeding the birds in years' past, but this year seems to be more significant than previous.

He related this to COVID-19 and people spending more time outside and in parks.

"What used to be with people coming out with one or two pieces of bread, now we have people bringing whole loaves of bread and we have people bringing buckets of stuff to feed the geese with," Gerhard said. 

Dreamland Lake in Fairview Park is a location parkgoers can head to in order to find ducks and geese. Kristen Ragusa doesn't live from the park and said she's noticed during her visits more water fowl are showing signs of Angel Wing Syndrome.

"I feel like every time I come out here, there is one more bird that's got Angel Wing," she said. 

The Decatur Park District, along with local bird activists, urge community members to stop feeding the birds. While it may seem like a harmless thing to do, the condition could have a lasting impact and ultimately cause the bird its life because it's unable to fly from predators.

"We get it, we want to help the birds and we think we are helping the birds but in reality we are hurting the birds," said Gerhard.

There is no law in Illinois that prevent people from feeding wild geese and waterfowl, according to IDNR. The push is to educate people about the pitfalls of feeding wildlife.

There are currently no feeding signs around Dreamland Lake in Fairview Park.Â