Feeder-borne Diseases and Risk to Backyard Birds

Spring at the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) often means an uptick in songbird intake at our facility. The spring migration brings back a wide variety of songbird species to Ontario from their winter ranges. At this time of year, many people will experience a larger number of birds on their backyard bird feeders and birdbaths. If you make the decision to feed birds in your yard, there are certain precautions you should take to ensure their health and safety as feeders may act as sites for disease transmission.

There is the increased potential for disease transmission to occur at feeders if healthy and sick birds are in close proximity, or if there is moldy seed, or fecal matter accumulating on and around the feeders.

Although the use of bird feeders is unlikely to spread highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, there are many different illnesses that birds can contract and spread, including avian pox, mycoplasmosis, salmonella, and trichomoniasis. To prevent disease outbreaks, it is best to frequently clean birdbaths and feeders. This should be done every one to two weeks by soaking feeders in a 10% chlorine bleach solution (one part bleach to 9 parts cool water), rinsing them well and letting them fully air dry. It is important to wear a pair of gloves when cleaning your feeders and to only use those gloves and any other tools (like brushes) for this purpose . We recommend opting for feeders where birds are not able to stand on the seed, so avoid platform or tray feeders. If seed ever becomes wet, it should be discarded to avoid the growth of mold. It is also good practice to clean the ground under the feeders, by raking and discarding dropped seed to discourage bacteria growth and pest species. Finally, monitor your yard for signs of avian illness.

If you see songbirds with abnormal growths, crusty eyes, wet/matted feathers around the beak, fluffed up feathers or who appear lethargic, they may have one of these diseases. The best thing to do is temporarily take your feeders down for a minimum of two weeks. This will discourage birds from congregating in your yard and hopefully limit the spread of disease between birds. If after putting your feeders back up, you observe additional sick birds, then it is recommended you take your feeders down until the beginning of the next season.

If you find dead songbirds (or any dead wildlife) in your yard, you can contribute to the surveillance of these diseases by contacting the CWHC at 1-866-673-4781 or by submitting an online report at https://cwhc.wildlifesubmissions.org/.

Written by Abby Irwin, Co-op student CWHC Ontario/Nunavut

References:

Birds Canada. (n.d.). Keeping Feeder Birds Healthy. Retrieved December 20, 2024, from https://www.birdscanada.org/you-can-help/keeping-feeder-birds-healthy

Government of Canada. Avian influenza in wild birds. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/migratory-game-bird-hunting/avian-influenza-wild-birds.html#toc3

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