By now some of you may have noticed dead or weak birds in your yard and
wondered what was going on.
I had not learned about this outbreak until this week and thought I'd pass
this along.
Salmonellosis is affecting our Austin area birds. Apparently it is a
widespread event stretching even to California. Pine Siskins are very
susceptible to salmonellosis, and it spreads easily to other species via
shared food and water.
You can learn more here.
https://travisaudubon.org/uncategorized/pine-siskins-and-salmonellosis-how-to-identify-and-prevent-the-spread
https://birdrescuecenter.org/salmonellosis/
I brought in my feeders and shut down my water features. It's hard to do-
and you think your yard is immune until it's not.
One local birder lost 10 siskins and 3 lesser goldfinches very quickly. Her
neighbors have found dead birds in their yards too, which she suspects were
from her feeders.
This situation certainly supports the opinions of those who recommend
reducing or eliminating bird feeding, which concentrates birds, creating
superspreader events. It's a very sad situation to have on top of the
mortality of the February freeze.
The good news though is that plants are leafing out, some are blooming,
local breeders are singing, and migration is underway. I hope everyone can
find a native <https://www.wildflower.org/collections/> plant to replace
one that died, and help feed the birds naturally.
Jane Tillman
Austin
