Dead Birds

Has anyone noticed an increase in a)fledglings now and b) more worringly an increase in dead birds.

As I feed the birds all year, and am visited by both cats and a sparrowhawk, I get the occasional dead bird - or feathers in the case of the sparrow hawk. But these last 5 days have been a bit different - 3 fully fledged and flying fledglings (two green finches, 1 sparrow), and two adult birds (1 chaffinch and 1 greenfinch) - no obvious sign of injury.

 

Could be dehydration Fran. Lack of rain is really making things difficult for wildlife now and it's even more important for folks to put out fresh water daily (which I'm sure you do)

Ticks and fleas also go in cycles and they can make already stressed birds very miserable.

 

Fran it could be dehydration due to the lack of water around as frogesque states,but could also be due to the quality of food being left out for the birds.

People put out food ie nuts and seed in feeders,and then forget to change them on a regular basis.
They can be left out in all weathers, so will start to go off.
This is where various bacterias can start to form which unknown to the birds, get taken in when they feed themselves and their chicks.

The downside then is that there are a lot of dead and dying birds, unable to fight off infection.
By all means we can feed the birds all year round, which is something I have done for years, but we must all remember to change the food and water quite often.
If you click on www.rspb.org.uk...I think thats right, you will be able to get a lot of helpful information

Kandy

 

I have noticed quite a few dead birds, mainly thrushes, all grown ones, over here too. Just yesterday I disposed of one over here at my son's house. The others were all over in our garden, we live only about 800 meters from our son. They can't have died of dehydration as so many people have ponds in our area. It is worrying as "bird flu" comes to mind! We only feed in the winter months when the birds have a problem finding food.

 

A while ago re bird flu, we were asked to report any significant change in the number of bird deaths. Three or more together was quoted. May be different in Germany, but I would be inclined to play safe. Don't touch them and seek advice.

A lot of dead thrushes this time of year seems very odd to me. Any toxic spraying nearby? Anyone gone over the top with slug pellets in local gardens?

 

Thanks for the replies - having seen another greenfinch clearly sick (feathers Ok, unfluffed, but totally oblivious to hazard - I could have picked it up, though it could fly and indeed eat. I contacted the RSPB (I'm a member). Apparently the likely cause is called trichomoniasis, caused by a particular throat parasite. which used to affect doves and last year was found in greenfinches.

Not transferrable to non birds - but if an infected bird drops a bit of birdfeed and it is picked up by another bird within a couple of hours then it will pass it on, or alternatively if an infected parent is feeding young - that would account for the young fledglings. Apparenly the parasite does not live more than a couple of hours outside its host.

The other cause - but less likely is salmonella a tad more transferrable as you know. Your right Kandyfloss if you feed birds you need to keep things clean - feeder,table, water and ground. I knew about salmonella, but not this parasite.

Kedi Gatco - if you have thrush deaths, and no sign of cat damage, then if it is more likely to the use of slub pellets - there is a chemical in them that kills the slugs and snails, and then the thrush. BTW that chemical, is also toxic to cats. I don't use them - but they have brought out supposedly wildlife friendly pellets, I will not risk using them.

[ 16. August 2006, 05:18 PM: Message edited by: Fran ]

 

Kedi Gato.Perhaps you ought to inform someone in authority about the dead thrushes,so that Bird Flu can be ruled out.
One of my sisters chickens died and she had to have the bird checked out by Defra.

Luckily there was no problem,but she still had to cremate it and then bury it quite deeply.

Kandy

 

Just now back on here to check this post but it is too late as I buried them deep right away and of course I did not touch them. TG have found no more since.