Posted on 06/25/2021 7:10:30 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
Earlier this week, Indiana DNR said birds - including cardinals, robins and blue jays - were getting sick or dying across the state, but it was unclear why. Investigators say the birds have shown signs of neurological illness, as well as eye swelling and a crusty discharge
The sick or dead birds have been found in 15 counties across Indiana...
As the department works with the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and the USGS National Wildlife Health Center to determine what is causing the bird deaths, they're asking all Hoosiers to remove feeders from their yards.
That includes hummingbird feeders
(Excerpt) Read more at wthr.com ...
My daughter has hummingbird feeders. They come back year after year to her yard in North Idaho. Amazing 5-ounce birds fly all the way to Chile for the winter and back to the same yard where the food is good.
I think the issue is not with the feed, it the feeders causing birds to congregate and spread disease. I’ve always worried about that.
We’ve had a drought here in Wisconsin. I don’t know how bad it is in Indiana, but maybe they’re dying of thirst.
R weakened to the point where a disease is getting them. It sounds like disease. It’s tough out there, for birds. Weather kills more of them than anything else, I’m sure.
Remove lures so that they don’t leave infected pooh around your home and that they aren’t sharing a community feeder.
That’s what I understood.
Birds and squirrels have very different metabolisms and susceptibilities.
But if something in the bird food is responsible for the birds dying, then shouldn't it affect squirrels, or any other critter that accesses the bird food, the same way.
As I made the rounds cutting hay today I watched a life or death drama being played out on the fence. A baby Barn Swallow had flown the nest and seemed to be stuck there clinging to the fence. The Momma was frantic. After several times around both were gone. The little one looked just like a Disney baby bird from cartoons decades ago when they were good and had a good message.
I gave the whole scene a wide berth leaving plenty of grass. It can wait for another day to be cut.
I hear the Scissor Tails chattering in the trees all night. Wonder what they are saying to one another?
Birds can have a tough life.
Not necessarily. Bears raid bird feeders - happens at my husband’s homestead all the time. How much poison do you think a bear would have to eat to be affected, compared with a bird? or even a squirrel or raccoon, compared with a bird? And most birds that attend bird feeders have very little sense of smell or taste - other animals might notice something wrong, where a bird may not.
And some animals can eat things with no harm that are poisonous to others.
(This could also be a virus or bacteria that uniquely affects birds, not necessarily poisoned food. The point of ceasing to feed at bird feeders is mainly to stop them from congregating in great numbers, where disease is more easily spread among them.)
Not sure there’s much future in trying a COVID-19 like lockdown on birds.
I do just about the same thing.
Keep it clean and keep it fresh.
I also have a Blue Bird trail about 2 miles long. My colony suffered terribly in the hard cold spell we had this year. Many clutches of little birds froze to death where they sheltered in nest boxes. I think that hit me harder than a death in the family for some reason. They have given me so much joy out here as I work around the farm. Little Blue Birds of happiness.
Good point. Thanks for sharing your very astute facts.
Boiling the water makes sense. I’d heard there’s a mold that can grow on hummingbird feeders so maybe it’s related to these water-borne parasites.
We only feed birds in winter. They appreciate it and we get to watch them, including rare ones. It’s a good deal for all. We also scatter corn for the turkeys and deer.
We have 2 birdbaths to help them through the drought (although we just got 4” of rain). It keeps them from pecking my tomatoes.
Between them and the squirrels, there are no acorns or pine cones left on the forest floor.
Noticed no sick birds here in Central Wisconsin, either.
This sounds geographically limited to Indiana.
I’m not sure. We’ve had news reports that it’s happening here in the DMV.
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