The importance of cleaning our bird feeders and watching for disease among our feathered visitors is especially relevant in this irruptive finch year when denser populations often lead to an increase in disease. There have been reports of sluggish and dead Pine Siskins from the San Francisco Peninsula and the Northern Coast. While results are not yet conclusive, it is believed that Salmonella is causing many of these deaths. Salmonella is thought to pass from bird to bird at bird feeders.
What you can do to help?
According to Portland Audubon:
The best advice if you observe sick birds is to take down feeders to help the birds “social distance”. By taking feeders down for 14 days, we help the birds disperse and limit their exposure to concentrated feeding. Remember that the very best way to support birds in our yards and neighborhoods is with native plants and leaving leaf litter alone because natural foraging behavior doesn’t create the same high disease transmission risk that bird feeders do.
Additionally, cleaning your bird feeders regularly will help prevent the spread of disease. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology you should
Clean your feeders about once every two weeks, more often during times of heavy use or wet weather or if there have been reports of salmonella in your area or you have seen sick birds in your yard.
To learn more about this issue and how you can help, read Portland Audubon’s blog post Help Pine Siskins by Practicing Safe Bird Feeding and learn more about maintaining safe and clean bird feeders in this article from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.