Back in the winter, I observed a house finch perched on the outside windowsill and just not moving much.
I was literally within inches of the bird. I observed it carefully and noted a small spherical blob at the corner of the bird’s eye. I can say with a degree of certainty the bird had the malady
Our mockingbirds are in control of their territories and carrying on melodiously as usual.
A blue jay ate the baby wrens
Now that you mention it, earlier this year I saw a young sparrow huffing & puffing on the lawn, not moving when I got near. At the time, I figured it was a fledgling just getting her “land legs”. Now I’m beginning to wonder.
Mother Nature is a mean mama.
A blue jay ate the baby wrens.
We have put wren houses in our back yard and by our front porch.
Often we see a female wren sizing up the homes for a future nesting. They may go into the wren houses and stay a short time.
A local bird watcher neighbor said it was due to all the Western Scrub Blue Jays in our back yard, hers and our neighbors’, nesting and looking for close food for their babies. A pair of peregrine falcons nest in her side yard and other baby birds and squirrels are everyday edible staples for the young/baby falcons. We often find a young squirrel’s tail that was a left over.
Probably a tick.