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Our yard in Orangevale has had large numbers of siskins for about a month now. While I agree that there is no reason to panic regarding the current Salmonella outbreak, those who maintain feeders and birdbaths should be keeping an extra close watch on the birds in their yards, and sanitizing daily.
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Most people will never find a dead bird in their yard, but this does not mean that there aren¡¯t sick birds around. Watch out for birds that fluff up their feathers and stay that way, often not moving much for long periods of time (several minutes). Additionally, sick birds are sometimes unusually tame (not flying away when you approach) or seen closing their eyes or squinting. Out of the ~50 siskins that visited our yard lately, last week at least three were clearly ill. If you don¡¯t have as many siskins around, your likelihood of encountering a sick individual is lower, but all it takes is one bird to start the spread. Think of removing your bird feeders as you do wearing a mask in public. It¡¯s all about reducing the risk of a very real problem. Don¡¯t forget to clean birdbaths at least every day as well. While tube and sock feeders seem to be more hygienic than tray feeders, from personal experience I know that they do still get feces on them and also should be temporarily taken down if not sanitized daily. For now I¡¯m throwing seed haphazardly throughout the yard, and all of the birds have adapted and become ground feeders. Max Brodie Orangevale On Feb 7, 2021, at 9:44 PM, Di <2curiousdi@...> wrote: |
