Disease kills wild birds in Sisters area

Be on the alert for the dying wild birds frequenting feeders in the Sisters area. Something has gone wrong - finches, Pine Siskins, crossbills and Evening Grosbeaks have been found dead in the Sage Meadows area.

It was just about this time last year that salmonellosis (sal-moh-neh-LOW-sis) broke out among the crossbills in the LaPine and Crescent areas. According to Chris Carey, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist in Bend, the same problem may be occurring in Sisters this summer.

A similar outbreak occurred around Sisters about five years ago, when Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins and crossbills were found dead beneath bird feeders in several locations. OSU epidemiologists confirmed that salmonellosis was the culprit.

If you should notice dead birds in your yard, keep them away from pets. Do not pick them up bare-handed; use disposable gloves (or a plastic sandwich bag over your hand), place the dead birds in zip-lock plastic, then bury everything deep.

Do not place any dead birds or old bird seed in containers that are going into the Deschutes County land-fill. (Ravens and starlings will assuredly find them, and spread the disease even more).

There are several species of Salmonella bacterium that strike animals, manifesting itself as an abdominal

infection, often resulting in inflammation of the intestines, diarrhea, and septicemia (blood poison). There have been rare cases of salmonellosis infection in humans as well.

Fatal diseases in wild birds are so infrequent they often go unnoticed, even by those who feed birds. Once in a while, however, a widespread epidemic occurs and birds begin dying in multitudinous numbers and are very noticeable.

Studies conducted in the U.S., Britain and Switzerland suggest that the reservoirs (and possible vectors) for salmonellosis may be starlings and house sparrows.

The expanding range and populations of European Starlings and house (English) sparrows pose potential problems all over the U.S. They're very social birds, and compete all too well with native finches, siskins and

other birds for nesting sites and food.

Starlings are so aggressive when seeking nesting sites they'll nest in just about any cavity they can fit into - like bluebird boxes and the lower recesses of a Golden Eagle's huge stick nest. As a result, bluebirds and eagles are infected with bacteria, and will also be unwilling hosts to parasites carried by the invading starlings.

In addition to alien birds spreading the diseases, the sheer numbers of birds at a feeder can cause problems. Finches, blackbirds and cowbirds had a good success ratio in young fledged this year, and local feeders are crowded.

Too many birds at a feeder will often result in a great deal of squabbling (over who eats what before anyone else). Stress can cause health problems in birds, as it does in humans

Old bird food on the ground also spreads salmonellosis among the wild birds in your backyards. Finches, house sparrows and their ilk scatter seeds in all directions, along with the infected droppings.

Quail are reluctant to get into a feeder, as are towhees and juncos. They often keep their feet on the ground and scratch out a living. As a result, the ground-feeders become infected as well.

So what do we do?

Remove all food from the feeder for at least 30 days, thereby forcing the birds to disperse, which eliminates crowding, stress, and possible further infection.

·Wash feeders with a 50 percent solution of warm water and household bleach at the beginning of summer. This minimizes the chances of spreading diseases.

·Continue to wash feeders at least twice throughout the season. If the finches and chickadees perch on favorite branches of trees around your feeder, give them a washing. Be sure to thoroughly rinse everything you wash; doing so will eliminate possible contamination problems to birds, and flowers, shrubs and trees.

Remove the empty seed hulls and litter beneath the feeder. If you have a small, portable vacuum that will suck up seeds and droppings, all the better. Burying the residue a good way to dispose of it.

· If you observe a great deal of squabbling over food, leave your feeders empty for a few days; this will disperse newly fledged young and force them to forage for natural foods.