Folks,
Our Wildlife Disease Program at KDFWR would be interested in testing some
siskin specimens IF anyone finds 3 or more dead beads during a few days at one
location.
If you have specimens that meet this criteria and are interested, please place
them in plastic bag and freeze them or keep them in a cold location until
submission. Please use good hygiene practices (wear gloves if possible and wash
your hands after handling these birds). Note- that having a dead bird at your
feeder should not cause alarm for your family’s health, but precautions should
be taken with handling and storage. Salmonella can affect people and children,
the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals shouldn't handle sick birds.
Please call Christine Casey, our wildlife veterinarian at 502-892-4584
(Frankfort) to coordinate pick up of the specimens if you have some that meet
this criteria.
Thanks,
Kate Slankard
Avian Biologist
Nongame Branch
KY Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
#1 Sportsman's Lane
Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: 502-892-4474
Fax: 502-564-4519
kate.slankard@xxxxxx
www.fw.ky.gov
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-----Original Message-----
From: birdky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <birdky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of
mikesindahouse
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2021 12:10 PM
To: BIRDKY <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: brainard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx; eric@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [birdky] Re: NOTE OF CAUTION: Pine Siskins with Salmonella ....
Here are a bunch of questions I have that perhaps someone can answer or can
help get answered.
Are we sure it’s salmonella and not some other pathogen? Has anyone recovered a
dead bird and got it analyzed? Is that even a possibility? Would RROKI or
similar entity / veterinarian be able to to assist?
By law are we allowed to capture a live wild bird in distress and take it to
the vet to see what’s going on and perhaps get it some antibiotics?
I find it very curious as to why one species is being affected more so than
others (mostly finches) that share a preference for the same feed, though
perhaps others may eat thistle in smaller/ limited quantities than siskins do.
Could it be thistle / feed we are putting out has simply gone bad? I believe
there is a shelf life - expiration dates can be found on some feed packaging.
I know grocery stores have recalls when pathogens find their way into our food
supplies. Could it be that one has found it’s way into the supply of thistle?
Agree regular cleaning of feeders, baths and the area immediately around them
would help reduce the potential for excrement to spread germs, particularly on
the ground and at the bird bath. I would advise to rinse well after cleaning
your feeders with chemicals.
Thanks,
Mike Callan
Louisville, KY
On Jan 13, 2021, at 11:26 AM, Eric Lathrop
<eric@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:eric@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
I'm sad to report that I've had 2 Pine Siskin deaths in the last
week, and I've seen a sluggish Siskin sit on my porch railing for
several hours. I'll be taking down my feeders today, and purchasing some
bleach the next time I get groceries.
Thanks for the information, I'm still pretty new to this.
Is it safe to leave suet feeders up? My Siskins mostly visit my
thistle tube feeder, and occasionally the sunflower tube feeder, but
I've never seen them on the suet.
Also, is it safe to still toss out in-shell peanuts? Should I just
halt everything for 2 weeks?
Eric Lathrop, Louisville
On Wed, Jan 13, 2021 at 07:57:06AM -0500,
brainard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:brainard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;}
--></style></head><body><div style="font-size: 13px;color: rgb(0, 0,
0);font-family: arial, sans-serif;">It appears that Salmonella is
moving through the flocks of Pine Siskins that are wintering in our
area. Three folks who still have flocks at their feeders are
reporting lethargic, weak, or dying birds. This is a well-known
problem that cannot be completely addressed by those of us who feed
birds, but we can apparently help out the situation by following
measures outlined in the below-linked
articles:<br><br>https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A_
_wildbirdsunlimited.typepad.com_the-5Fzen-5Fbirdfeeder_2013_02_if-2Dy
oure-2Dseeing-2Dsick-2Dor-2Ddying-2Dpine-2Dsiskins.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=jv
UANN7rYqzaQJvTqI-69lgi41yDEZ3CXTgIEaHlx7c&r=38nY-wIRkDaWdQ1QSRyOLUoc9
gnRoh3rP2jvrVBpI-A&m=qgHFf42pIwpMYJshqQN4LjwlqHJhX8mHCacJTon5cYg&s=or
TXhhrDLeautjI0XDm4qYx5QnRxDuV4E-ToxdM82qs&e=
<br><div><br></div><div><div style="font-family: Geneva, Arial,
Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><a
href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.chronli
ne.com_news_wdfw-2Dbird-2Dfeeders-2Dblamed-2Dfor-2Ddeadly-2Dsalmonell
a-2Doutbreak-2Damong-2Dwild-2Dbirds_article-5Fa5af5512-2D546b-2D11eb-
2Da33d-2Dc7694ab26481.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=jvUANN7rYqzaQJvTqI-69lgi41yDEZ3
CXTgIEaHlx7c&r=38nY-wIRkDaWdQ1QSRyOLUoc9gnRoh3rP2jvrVBpI-A&m=qgHFf42p
IwpMYJshqQN4LjwlqHJhX8mHCacJTon5cYg&s=KWaXJtoENFkw-gcg8RSVIMd4Q80M_uL
gYVywWbEhy_M&e= " style="color: rgb(0, 0,
255);">https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.chronl
ine.com_news_wdfw-2Dbird-2Dfeeders-2Dblamed-2Dfor-2Ddeadly-2Dsalmonel
la-2Doutbreak-2Damong-2Dwild-2Dbirds_article-5Fa5af5512-2D546b-2D11eb
-2Da33d-2Dc7694ab26481.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=jvUANN7rYqzaQJvTqI-69lgi41yDEZ
3CXTgIEaHlx7c&r=38nY-wIRkDaWdQ1QSRyOLUoc9gnRoh3rP2jvrVBpI-A&m=qgHFf42
pIwpMYJshqQN4LjwlqHJhX8mHCacJTon5cYg&s=KWaXJtoENFkw-gcg8RSVIMd4Q80M_u
LgYVywWbEhy_M&e= </a></div><div style="font-family: Geneva, Arial,
Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><br></div><div
style="font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:
9pt;">For anyone will try to decide whether or not to take the safe
route and consider ceasing with bird feeding or a "time out" for the
safety of the siskins ... it may be hard to suddenly quit feeding
birds right now, but a two-week break shouldn't do anything to
threaten anyone's back yard birds. Conditions so far this winter have
not been extreme and upcoming forecast is not for any severe cold or
snow. </div><div style="font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica,
sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><br></div><div style="font-family:
Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Anyone who is
aware of additional measures feel free to post here.</div><div
style="font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:
9pt;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica,
sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">bpb, Louisville</div><div
style="font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:
9pt;"><br></div></div></div></body></html>
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Visit the KOS Photo Page to view photos of birds recently sighted in
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ups_kentucky-5Fornithological-5Fsociety_pool&d=DwIFaQ&c=jvUANN7rYqzaQJ
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