European Starlings by Mike Stallard/Audubon Photography Awards
Update - All affected states now say feeders can go back up. Here’s a good summary of what we know.
Update - As of August 17, Maryland is lifting the recommendation to stop feeding birds. We will post more information as we see it. Read more here.
This post from Willowbrook Wildlife Center on July 28 has the latest information about the bird illness spreading across the eastern states.
"As many of you know, there has been a mystery affecting passerine and small bird species (mainly blue jays, common grackles, European starlings and American robins, but also many others) sweeping across the east coast and now into the Midwest. Since May, it is estimated that thousands of birds have succumbed to this unknown disease, generally presenting with swollen and crusted eyes, general debilitation, and even neurological signs such as ataxia. Due to the aggressive spread of this disease and lack of response to medical management, wildlife centers in the hardest hit areas have had to euthanize hundreds of birds presenting with these signs. Despite over a month of diagnostic testing at multiple wildlife disease laboratories across the county, no definitive diagnosis has been determined.
Up to this point, while we have gotten reports from concerned citizens, we had not admitted any animals that presented with the classic clinical signs. Unfortunately, this week, not only did we take in a fledgling blue jay that matched the concerning signs spot on, but so did our friends at Oaken Acres Wildlife Center. Both birds were from Cook County. One bird was euthanized and one passed away quickly. While Illinois does not currently have a protocol for testing/submitting birds for this disease, we were able to work with the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory to get these birds submitted for testing.
As the number of cases being reported is dropping and we are slowly moving out of “baby season” for birds, we are hopeful that these are the only cases of this disease that we see. There are many theories currently being considered as all common bacterial, viral, fungal, and toxological diseases have been ruled out – a connection with the recent cicada emergence, pesticide use, and emerging viral disease, etc. We are hoping to know more in the coming months.
It is always a good idea to remove feeders in areas where sick birds are found to help prevent the spread of communicable diseases. There are many natural food resources to be found in natural areas at this time of year that will support young birds and the migratory species soon to pass through.”
If you would like to report a dead bird:
in Cook County: http://ow.ly/k5uL50Fub7K
in other Illinois counties: https://www.wildlifeillinois.org/.../contact-an-idnr.../