Cleaning Bird Feeders Recommended As Mystery Illness Lingers
By Carol Kugler
Herald-Times
BLOOMINGTON – People who watch birds at feeders and elsewhere are more aware of illness after a mysterious sickness affected songbirds in Indiana and in other states, especially along the East Coast.
But not all the birds with swollen eyes are suffering from the sickness that officials are still trying to identify.
Already this year Allisyn Gillet, state bird biologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, said there have been multiple cases of finches with red, crusted and swollen eyes that is caused by a known disease — house finch conjunctivitis, also called Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis.
“The only way to help prevent any spread is by cleaning your feeders regularly,” Gillet said.
Her recommendation is to remove all debris and then clean the feeder using a 10% bleach solution at least once a month. The feeders should be rinsed and dried.
Anyone who sees a bird with any eye disease should immediately take down their feeders, clean them and leave them down until they no longer see birds with the symptoms, Gillet said.
House finch conjunctivitis not only infects house finches but also American goldfinches and sometimes purple finches, evening grosbeaks and pine grosbeaks. Just as COVID-19 can spread among different species of mammals, the house finch conjunctivitis is caused by a bacteria also known to cause respiratory infections in other birds, including turkeys and chickens. The first outbreak in finches was reported in Maryland in 1994, slowly spreading across the U.S.
“We have wildlife affecting domestic animals,” Gillet said. “This went the other way.”
This article was made available through Hoosier State Press Association.