{"id":18051,"date":"2021-06-30T08:30:59","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T12:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=18051"},"modified":"2025-02-10T17:10:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T21:10:30","slug":"cause-of-songbird-deaths-remains-a-mystery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/cause-of-songbird-deaths-remains-a-mystery\/","title":{"rendered":"Cause of Songbird Deaths Remains a Mystery"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Starting in May, the <a title=\"Indiana Department of Natural Resources\" href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gov\/dnr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Indiana Department of Natural Resources<\/a> (DNR) began to receive reports of sick and dying songbirds from several counties around the state. As of now, the cause of the illness remains a mystery although submitted specimens have tested negative for avian influenza and West Nile virus according to the DNR. Affected birds have white crust and discharge around the eyes and damage to their nervous system. Reports of sick birds have expanded to many more counties in Indiana.<\/p>\n<p>Several diseases that affect songbirds are transmitted from one animal to another. Bird feeders can increase the likelihood of disease transmission by facilitating close contact among birds. Even though the disease and its mode of transmission in this case is unknown, the DNR is recommending all Hoosiers remove their birdfeeders.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/BridOnFeeder.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-18054\" src=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/BridOnFeeder-500x313.jpg\" alt=\"Blue jay on bird feeder.\" width=\"500\" height=\"313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/BridOnFeeder-500x313.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/BridOnFeeder-768x481.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/BridOnFeeder-250x157.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/BridOnFeeder.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a>Officials recommend the following steps:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use the DNR sick\/dead wildlife reporting tool at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gov\/dnr\/fish-and-wildlife\/wildlife-resources\/wildlife-diseases-in-indiana\/sick-or-dead-wildlife-reporting\/?utm_source=agency-website&amp;utm_medium=&amp;utm_campaign=&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on.IN.gov\/sickwildlife<\/a> to alert DNR staff.<\/li>\n<li>Stop feeding birds until the mortality event has concluded.<\/li>\n<li>Clean feeders and baths with a 10% bleach solution.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid handling birds. If you need to handle birds, wear disposable gloves.<\/li>\n<li>When removing dead birds, wear disposable gloves and place birds and gloves in a sealable plastic bag to dispose with household trash.<\/li>\n<li>Keep pets away from sick or dead birds as a precaution.<\/li>\n<li>Proper care of bird feeders and seed is an important part of preventing disease transmission at birdfeeders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Audubon Society recommends the following best practices:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clean feeders monthly using one part bleach to nine parts warm water. Soak the feeder in the solution for a few minutes, rinse, and air dry.<\/li>\n<li>If uneaten food is accumulating in or under feeders, consider using less food or switch to a seed more to the birds&#8217; liking.<\/li>\n<li>If birds are fighting over space at a feeder, consider adding more feeders to alleviate the congestion that can potentially be responsible for the rapid spread of disease.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid throwing large amounts of food on the ground or alternate ground feeding areas so that uneaten food does not accumulate and develop bacteria or mold.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Resources:<br \/>\n<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/events.in.gov\/event\/dnr_recommends_removal_of_birdfeeders_statewide_1812?utm_campaign=widget&amp;utm_medium=widget&amp;utm_source=State+of+Indiana\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DNR recommends removal of birdfeeders statewide &#8211; June 25<\/a>, Indiana Department of Natural Resources<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.audubon.org\/news\/3-ways-keep-your-feeder-disease-free-birds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Birdfeeder tips<\/a>, The National Audubon Society<br \/>\n<a title=\"Birds and Residential Window Strikes: Tips for Prevention\" href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/fnr-562-w.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Birds and Residential Window Strikes: Tips for Prevention<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center<br \/>\n<a title=\"reeding Birds and Forest Management: the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment and the Central Hardwoods Region\" href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/fnr-501-w.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Breeding Birds and Forest Management: the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment and the Central Hardwoods Region<\/a>, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a title=\"Managing Woodlands for Birds Video\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ypWb2OU5Ezc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Managing Woodlands for Birds Video<\/a>, Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/contact-us\/directory\/brian-j-macgowan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brian MacGowan<\/a>, Wildlife Extension Specialist<br \/>\nPurdue University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Starting in May, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) began to receive reports of sick and dying songbirds from several counties around the state. As of now, the cause of the illness remains a mystery although submitted specimens have tested negative for avian influenza and West Nile virus according to the DNR. Affected birds [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,870,54],"tags":[583,1453,488,1125,257,1452],"class_list":["post-18051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alert","category-disease","category-wildlife","tag-birds","tag-deaths","tag-disease","tag-feeders","tag-purdue-extension","tag-songbird","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-12 13:29:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18051"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31431,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18051\/revisions\/31431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}