A Mystery Illness Is Killing Mid-Atlantic Songbirds (1 Viewer)

[KC Foggin]

See:

A Mystery Illness Is Killing Mid-Atlantic Songbirds

Wildlife officials are asking people not to feed birds or provide bird baths amid dozens of reports of mysterious songbird deaths.

www.npr.org

Apparently it is moving eastward

 

[scissortail666]

This is why I took down my birdfeeders (with the exception of hummingbird feeders), even though I really miss all the birds visiting my yard. Several outbreaks of salmonellosis in my local area hit finch populations really badly. I kept my feeders meticulously clean, but still had a sick goldfinch visit and pass away in my yard. It was just too much.

In an effort to research this subject further, I picked up a copy of "The Birds at My Table: Why we feed wild birds and why it matters" by Darryl Jones. It is excellent - incredibly well researched, thorough and to my knowledge the only academic book on the subject. The chapter on disease transmission at feeders was shocking, and I then began to notice all the news stories such as this one. He also explores the corporate interests invested in the birdfeeding industry, which helped explain the horrified looks and swift disengagement I experienced when I tried to get advice from staff at Wild Birds Unlimited about sick & dying birds at my feeder.

But the six or so months that I had my birdfeeders up, got to know all the neighbourhood birds and smile at their antics, meant a lot to me. It's a hard & complicated decision.

 

[MiddleRiver]

Wondering what current consensus on feeder is... We quit feeding partly because unseasonably warm wx means there's still lot's of stuff for birds, but also because of having read about disease spread. That said, we really miss watching birds out our kitchen window. To feed or not to feed?