From all the hype about the cicada hatch, here in wester Franklin County, we've
barely seen anything. Haven't really heard anything out of the usual. I did
hear one yesterday afternoon. No bird deaths that I've noticed.
Fred Kirchhoff
Franklin County
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On Jun 25, 2021, 3:50 PM, at 3:50 PM, Joyce Bender <landstewardky@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
We had cicadas here and haven’t found any dead birds.
Joyce Bender, northern Franklin County
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 25, 2021, at 1:48 PM, Salena Filichia<salena.filichia@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
more than coincidental that the deaths are occurring where there are
I know it was mentioned that they were looking at cicadas. I find it
cicadas. I live a mile from Cave Hill in Louisville. They had a ton of
cicadas and apparently have lost most of a generation of blue jays. I
have had no cicada activity and have had no deaths in the neighborhood.
A friend in St Matthews had a yard full of cicadas and not only werethere a lot of blue jay deaths, she found mice and chipmunks dead in
her yard. No physical trauma observed.
DC area had a huge cicada outbreak. I wonder if it was like ourswhere some areas had cicadas and some didn’t. Did they have the same
patterns that we seem to have in Louisville?
I am wondering if 17 years of chemicals isn’t what is happening tothese birds. A buildup of toxins in the cicadas making them deadly to
birds that may be exposed to such toxins in smaller doses usually.
wrote:
Salena
On Fri, Jun 25, 2021 at 12:54 Ce Ci <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
mortality event.Social distancing for birds. KY takes steps, investigates after bird
investigating a bird mortality event that might be spread by a high
By Rayleigh Deaton
June 25, 2021 06:00 AM
photo by Ginger Rood
Social distancing is now for the birds, too.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) is
density of birds, such as near feeders. According to the department,
reports of ill and dying birds started arriving in late May, most of
them from Jefferson, Boone and Kenton counties.
case in conjunction with institutes like the National Wildlife Health
However, the cause remains unknown.
Dr. Christine Casey, a wildlife veterinarian for KDFWR, works on the
Center and the University of Georgia’s Southeastern Cooperative of
Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS). Casey said that reports come from
multiple states, such as Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Indiana and
Washington, D.C.
crusty discharge in the eye area, as well as neurological problems. She
What to watch for
According to Casey, reported symptoms in birds include swelling and
said these present as uncoordinated movements, contorted necks or rapid
eye activity.
most frequently reported varieties are passerines, including blue jays,
The condition does not seem to impact all birds; Casey said that the
common grackles and European starlings, although the KDFWR has seen a
few reports of other bird species. However, she said the department has
not received reports from pet bird species and poultry; these bird
varieties seem unaffected.
Louisville, said blue jays, grackles and starlings are not endangered
Andrew Melnykovych, president of the Beckham Bird Club in
varieties in terms of numbers, but any mortality event is concerning.
Kentucky specifically, that are in a great deal of trouble, and, you
“We’ve got a lot of species in North America in general, and
know, we can’t afford to have widespread bird mortality from any more
causes than we have already that is going to further stress these kinds
of species,” he said, citing habitat loss, outdoor cats and flying into
buildings as other threats.
outbreak seen among finch populations earlier in the year, and until
This mortality event seems to be distinct from the salmonella
the KDFWR knows what is causing it, Casey said it is hard to know if or
when this particular mortality event happened before in Kentucky. She
also said a contributing factor might also be the fungus associated
with this year’s cicada brood, although the symptoms in birds seem to
be bacterial, not fungal, in nature.
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said. “We’re trying to put together the pieces, basically what is
“This is essentially like an epidemiologic investigation,” Casey
impacting, what was causing this disease.”
birds in early June, sending around 20 of them to the SCWDS and other
Casey said the department began collecting carcasses of infected
diagnostic labs for testing — a process that can take up to six weeks.
to report sick or dead birds. Casey said the department has received
On June 18, the KDFWR opened an online form that Kentuckians can use
around 700 reports since then, mostly from central and northern
Kentucky.
surveys for free.
Reports of Bird Deaths
Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own
reports of birds related to this event,” she said. “We have to now go
“The issue there is that doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s 700
through and kind of sort out what is suspicious or possibly related to
this mortality event, because a lot of the time, people may see dying
birds, but it could just be a normal cause of death.”
dispersed across Jefferson County; he has not personally seen any sick
Melnykovych said sightings of infected birds are not uniformly
or dead birds related to the event. “I don’t know if it’s confined to a
few small areas, or where there’s a higher density of birds or what’s
going on,” he said. “ I don’t think anybody has a clear understanding
at this point.”
Commonwealth, namely northern and central Kentucky; Melnykovych said
The event seems to be concentrated in a few areas of the
this might be because of the higher population density there.
mortality are coming from more urban areas, so Louisville and northern
“One of the things that I’ve seen is that most of the reports of
Kentucky. And I think in those kinds of circumstances, it’s just a
question of is it because there are more people there, watching birds,
looking at birds? You know, the fact that you’ve got a higher
population density makes it more likely for things like that to be
noticed. Or is it something that is related to the fact that it’s a
more urban environment? And I don’t think, we certainly don’t, have
that answer yet,” he said.
the form on the KDFWR website, and including photos can help identify
What to do and how to help
Casey said that Kentuckians can report a sick or dying bird using
its species and whether it is one of the infected. Although leaving a
dead bird alone is preferable, she said that if it needs to be moved,
being safe is important.
you’re protecting yourself and using good hygiene practices and putting
“If you have to dispose of it wearing gloves, just make sure that
it in a trash bag. You can double bag it, and you can just throw it
away with waste disposal,” Casey said.
gathering places for birds. The KDFWR is encouraging Kentuckians to
Bird feeders might also exacerbate the problem, as they are
clean their feeders with a 10% bleach solution, and in Louisville and
northern Kentucky, the department has asked that residents take down
feeders until further notice — reminiscent of social distancing
mandates.
source of infection, but because feeders tend to concentrate birds in,
“That’s not necessarily because the feeders themselves are the
you know, higher density around feeders, and that can allow for more
disease transmission,” Melnykovych said.
it is difficult to know what precautionary steps to take. “There’s
However, until the KDFWR knows exactly what is causing this event,
really all possibilities to be explored at this point,” Casey said.
mortality event.Social distancing for birds. KY takes steps, investigates after bird
mor...
Social distancing for birds. KY takes steps, investigates after bird
and what they can do to help.Here’s what Kentuckians need to know about the bird mortality event
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/article252308783.html#storylink=cpy
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