Sick & dying songbirds in 53 Indiana counties. DNR says Remove All Birdfeeders Statewide

I hadn't heard anything about this until my mom mentioned earlier that she was missing hearing the birds chirping around her house. Apparently, this still currently unknown disease has been spreading throughout the State of Indiana since the end of May, and symptoms have now also been seen in a few other States as well.

In late May, DNR started receiving reports of sick and dying songbirds from Monroe County with neurological signs, eye swelling, and crusty discharge around the eyes.

Reports of sick and dying birds now include 53 counties....

The following species are principally affected: blue jay, American robin, common grackle, starling, northern cardinal, brown-headed cowbird.

What are the signs/symptoms of this disease?

Eye swelling, crusty/gummy/closed eyes, head swelling
Neurological signs (e.g., tremors, stumbling, weakness, lethargy)
Indiana DNR: Songbird Deaths

So far, everything they have tested for has came up Negative.

DNR staff have collected samples and submitted them to the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Final laboratory diagnostic results are pending – the cause or transmission is currently unknown and still under investigation.

All birds have tested negative for avian influenza, West Nile virus, and other flaviviruses, Salmonella and Chlamydia (bacterial pathogens), Newcastle disease virus and other paramyxoviruses, herpesviruses and poxviruses, and Trichomonas parasites. Other diagnostic tests are ongoing.

In order to slow down the spread of this illness, the Department of Natural Resources has recommended the removal of all birdfeeders Statewide.

As the investigation continues, the DNR recommends all Hoosiers remove their birdfeeders, including those for hummingbirds, statewide.

Indiana DNR: Songbird Deaths

Unsurprisingly, birds aren't so great at socially distancing when you supply them with birdfeeders & birdbaths.

INDIANA (WFIE) - More songbirds are coming down with a mysterious illness in Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.

In the meantime, officials are asking the public to take down their bird feeders and stop spreading feed.

DNR officials also said to wash feeders and baths with a 10% bleach solution. They say once rinsed and dried, store the feeders and baths inside until further notice.

“The whole reason for this is because we want birds to be able to socially distance naturally, when there are feeders, they are immediately attracted to them,” Allisyn Gillet, a DNR ornithologist said. “They don’t have that know-how of that’s not okay for them when there is a disease going around. So, we need to better impose that on them so they can naturally socially distance and feed on other things than other the bird feed.”

Officials also recommend removing hummingbird feeders in addition to other bird feeders too.

14NEWS Indiana DNR: Mysterious bird illness now detected in Illinois, Kentucky

In a Press Conference yesterday, Indiana DNR ornithologist Allisyn Gillet also mentioned that, "The cause is currently unknown. Songbirds from several States such as Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. are showing similar symptoms"
Soundcloud: Songbird Deaths Update July 2, 2021 by Indiana DNR

Hmm interesting all the test came back negative come common avian diseases, maybe the removal of bird feeders isn’t so much social distancing as it is removing a possibly compromised batch of bird feed thats either poisoning or spreading disease.

In today’s political climate and news media if it was found that bird seed from China was tainted on purpose to sow discord would they report on it honestly? Would it be easier to just fane ignorance and tell people to stop feeding the birds so the birds can “social distance” and go on to blame bird baths as if 10 birds wouldn’t just hop in the first good puddle they find.....birds....social distancing...I mean have they even seen birds in trees....10,15 to a branch....savages the lot of em not a mask in sight!

This is mostly tongue and cheek and satire but still...

a reply to: BrokenCircles

Just today I thought about how the bird life literally exploded around here since last year.

Falcons, Milan, Storks, typical songbirds in abundance. They all seem to build nests where I have never seen them before and feel too vulnerable for a normal bird behavior.

I do not have any statistics about flight travel decline but it's a long time ago I heard plane noises. Whenever I step outside, I hear birds singing, I heard them singing during rain and at night even! I spend many hours at the weekend in the forest. Walking, observing, maybe I am just more aware of it now.

We need birds or else we have a insect problem. That's my next point, mosquito. There are almost no around. I didn't get bitten once last year and this year I saw one. One mosquito.

The weather is completely unpredictable, more smaller local weather zones, faster weather changes. Clear blue sky now, half an hour later it rains, two hours later you're dying again in the heatwave.

Weather patterns suddenly pop up on weather radar websites that look like an Y. Like it's being steered around from three sides and some of it escapes. I didn't screenshot any of those, I just never saw them and it was my job for a year to know the weather and how to predict it's movement.

My customers complain about strange white chalk like stains on their cars when they bring it in. I have noticed them too and thought it's Sahara dust that we get sometimes here. So I scrapped a bit off, put it on a cut open potato and used a torch to see if I get beads. No beads, it smelled awful. If it's sand dust, shouldn't it melt to glass?

The smell was not from the potato because that's my "let's melt this stuff" method and I have done it a few times.

a reply to: BrokenCircles

Everything about this feels off.

Remarkably, in the UK we are seeing once thought of as never visiting again species making a return.

I find this news extremely troubling.

a reply to: Wide-Eyes

Remarkably, in the UK we are seeing once thought of as never visiting again species making a return.

Just lately? Does anything I wrote resonate with you? We're not that far apart.

originally posted by: ThatDamnDuckAgain
a reply to: Wide-Eyes

Remarkably, in the UK we are seeing once thought of as never visiting again species making a return.

Just lately? Does anything I wrote resonate with you? We're not that far apart.

Well of course it does. My grandfather was a keen Ornithologist(Can you believe that my tablet didn't have that word in it's database for spellcheck), it's kind of in my nature to pay attention to what birds are doing.



From what I can see, birds are good at adapting to ever changing circumstances.

a reply to: Athetos

What I can add to this is: My mother is a bird feeder. I have birdseed shipped to her every two weeks. Since March, the bird seed has been backordered. Now, the price is going up. I'm finding 5 pounds of the seed she gets for $20 and that's not some super fancy stuff but regular old Penningtons seed.

Been telling her for the past 3 months something is up with a bird seed shortage.

Very interesting. See these seemingly banal items like bird seed are perfect vectors to spread literally anything being common place and wide spread often foreign sourced. They are not food grade so there isn’t much scrutiny into the composition and you can’t find what you arnt looking for. Not saying that’s the case but good for thought in areas others then birds....
a reply to: billxam

originally posted by: billxam
a reply to: Athetos

What I can add to this is: My mother is a bird feeder. I have birdseed shipped to her every two weeks. Since March, the bird seed has been backordered. Now, the price is going up. I'm finding 5 pounds of the seed she gets for $20 and that's not some super fancy stuff but regular old Penningtons seed.

Been telling her for the past 3 months something is up with a bird seed shortage.

It could be a knock on effect of the pandemic bs.

I'm hearing farmers are struggling.

a reply to: BrokenCircles

I’ve been studying birds and observing them in Michigan for about 20 years.... this is alarming, but I haven’t noticed anything in the lower peninsula or in the U.P. And I just got back from a week vacation up there....

Indiana is close enough to have some throwback, I’ll keep an eye on the mentioned species.

Removing feeders will effect a great number of birds in suburban areas however; a lot of species have adapted to that being their main food supply

a reply to: Athetos

Birdseed is usually cultivated from bad crop seasons. Is this a sign that the farmers have had a good yield this year?

I hope so.

a reply to: Wide-Eyes

Birds are a sign from anything from famine to weather.... they are nature’s compass, along with insects....

I’ll check back soon with some recon

a reply to: SeektoUnderstand

Removing feeders will effect a great number of birds in suburban areas however; a lot of species have adapted to that being their main food supply 

Right?

Wtf are these regulators thinking?

Bird flus burn themselves out pretty quickly.

These people are insane.

Edit to add: If all the disease tests have come up negative then this is more likely an environmental issue as opposed to a viral one.

originally posted by: SeektoUnderstand
a reply to: Wide-Eyes

Birds are a sign from anything from famine to weather.... they are nature’s compass, along with insects....

I’ll check back soon with some recon

Respect.

I always know when a storm is imminent. The birds make a hella racket!

a reply to: Wide-Eyes

They fly low too; seagulls and sea-birds in general are good to watch near water..

If you are inland watch the crows....

Starve the birds. What a brilliant solution.

How about keeping your bird feeder clean?

a reply to: Creep Thumper

Pest control. These feeders are hot spots for birds to meet and spread disease.

As cruel as it sounds, the starving without feeders is a man made situation. Nature will regulate itself.

originally posted by: SeektoUnderstand
a reply to: Wide-Eyes

They fly low too; seagulls and sea-birds in general are good to watch near water..

If you are inland watch the crows....

The last time I watched a crow, it got into a fight with a squirrel. It was hilarious.

But seriously, seagulls come way inland to dodge storms. Hundreds of miles.

originally posted by: ThatDamnDuckAgain
a reply to: Creep Thumper

Pest control. These feeders are hot spots for birds to meet and spread disease.

As cruel as it sounds, the starving without feeders is a man made situation. Nature will regulate itself.

They're probably getting Covid.

Little did I know, pet transmission is gaining traction again...

I don't know who the Audubon Society is, but apparently they're advising people in Western Pennsylvania to go ahead and remove their birdfeeders, as a preventive measure.

Audubon Society Recommends Removal Of Bird Feeders In Western Pa. As Mysterious Illness Kills Birds In Neighboring States

A mysterious disease that is killing birds in large numbers in neighboring states is raising alarm bells for the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania; KDKA's Ken Rice reports.

The video in that↑ article even included Florida as one of the States where this supposed illness has been seen.

They showed it in: Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Florida.