Finches with Eye Disease

We’ve been seeing some reports on TN birding sites of House Finches and Goldfinches with an eye disease known as Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis, or House Finch eye disease.  And just yesterday a customer inquired about a bird that seemed sick.  It did not move away as she approached, as if it was not really aware of her presence.  The bird turned out to be a sick House Finch.  We hear reports and see evidence of this every year that range from sparse to wide-spread. 

Birds infected with House Finch eye disease have red, swollen, runny, or crusty eyes. In extreme cases the eyes become swollen shut and the bird becomes blind. House Finch eye disease is caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma gallisepticum. This bacterium has long been known as a pathogen of domestic turkeys and chickens, but it has been observed in House Finches since 1994. The disease has affected several other species, including American Goldfinch, Evening Grosbeak, and Purple Finch

You might observe an infected bird sitting quietly in your yard, clumsily scratching an eye against its foot or a perch. While some infected birds recover, many die from starvation, exposure, or predation.

The House Finch eye disease has affected mainly the eastern House Finch population, which is largely separated from the western House Finch population by the Rocky Mountains. Until the 1940s, House Finches were found only in western North America. They were released to the wild in the East after pet stores stopped illegal sales of “Hollywood Finches,” as they were commonly known to the pet bird trade. The released birds successfully bred and spread rapidly throughout eastern North America. In 2006, however, the disease was found west of the Rocky Mountains, and researchers are using FeederWatch data to monitor the spread west.

Whenever birds are concentrated in a small area, the risk of a disease spreading within that population increases. Research suggests that House Finches that spend large amounts of time at feeders spread the disease more effectively.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, House Finch Disease Survey data tell us that the disease has decreased from epidemic proportions and is now restricted to a smaller percentage of the population. It’s estimated that 5% to 10% of the eastern House Finch population has this disease and that the dramatic spread that occurred a few years ago has subsided. This means that it is still an important and harmful disease, but that House Finch populations are not currently at extreme risk of wide-spread population declines.

What To Do

If you detect a sick finch at your feeders the standard procedure is to take down your feeders for a few days to a week and give them a very thorough cleaning.  Cleaning your feeders is always a good idea and is recommended it be done on a regular basis.  Clorox wipes are very handy to give your feeder a quick clean particularly around the feeding ports.

Bird Bio: Red-Headed Woodpecker

I had a very pleasant surprise at my feeder full of Woodland Blend yesterday.  It’s a common bird to TN, but uncommon to birdfeeders; the Red-headed Woodpecker.  Sometimes people will mistakenly identify the Red-bellied Woodpecker as a Red-headed, but they really are extremely different.  The video I took and posted shows both species visiting the same feeder.  In over 25 years at my home in Pegram I’ve only seen Red-headed woodpeckers one other time.  The habitat around my home is heavily wooded, hard-wood forest.  Obviously not the habitat Red-headed woodpeckers prefer.  However, one can easily see Red-headeds at Montgomery Bell State Park and Bowie Nature Park where there are a lot of pine trees.  They seem to prefer more open habitat with evergreens.

The Red-headed woodpecker is easily identified by its entirely red head, neck and throat.  The back and wings are black with a patch of white visible on the wings.  The chest and belly are snowy white.  This insect, seed, and nut eater can be seen at feeders but not likely with regularity.  Numbers of this stunning bird seem to be on the decline in large part due to habitat loss and competition from Starlings for nest-sites.

AND…

The first Rose-breasted Grosbeaks of the season were reported this week being seen at feeders.  I saw one briefly yesterday but was unable to get my video camera in time.  Have your feeders ready because the Grosbeaks feed heavily as they migrate through the area.  They like sunflower, safflower, and shelled peanuts, and will use a variety of feeders including tube and platform.  Occasionally, they may be seen at suet feeders.

Tips for Feeding Bluebirds

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Picture taken out back of the shop.

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Male bluebird getting as many worms as he can.

Maybe you saw our video we posted last week of the three handsome male Bluebirds eating mealworms on our loading dock (it's also re-posted below).  If you haven’t you can can see it in last weeks blog titled Get Ready For Bluebirds and for more videos visit our you tube channel.  And now you are interested in getting started.  Eastern Bluebirds feed primarily on insects and berries so feeding them can be a little tricky.  We have a great deal of experience feeding bluebirds and would like to pass on our tips and tricks to help you have success. 

We at The Wood Thrush Shop would never suggest that the way to attract Bluebirds is with mealworms.  Mealworms are really the second part of the equation.  We would always recommend that one attracts Bluebirds first with nesting boxes.  Feeding them then becomes a lot easier.  Why? Because natural food sources for Bluebirds are literally available everywhere they travel.  Nest-boxes are not.  Their need for nest boxes takes precedence during the breeding season and will bring them to your yard more predictably and reliably, and for several months.  

When Bluebirds begin checking out a nest-box that is the best time to begin offering the kind of food they prefer, like live mealworms.   The type of feeder to use is really not very important.  I use a small clay dish which is placed on a large rock easily seen from the nest-box, maybe 10 feet away.  Platform type feeders tend to work very well.  We can show you several Bluebird feeder types we stock. 

When I see the first signs of Bluebirds showing interest in the nest-box that’s when I bring home the mealworms and look for the first opportunity to walk out to the feeder and offer a small amount of worms, maybe a dozen.  THIS IS IMPORTANT!  The key is I make sure the Bluebirds are there to see me make the offering.  Most times, over the many years I’ve done this, I have immediate success.  They fly right down to the dish and gobble them up.  I’ll repeat this little scene every time the opportunity arises over the course of a few days or a week.  Usually 3 or 4 times is enough for the Bluebirds to catch on to what you are doing.  If during that first offering they fly away do not leave the mealworms there.  The longer the worms are there the greater the likelihood that a Robin, or Mockingbird sees them.  If they catch on to this offering feeding the Bluebirds will then become almost impossible.  So, keep the offerings minimal until the Bluebirds really catch on.  Then you can increase the amounts of mealworms being offered as they raise their young.  Soon they will be waiting for you, or even seeking you out in your yard as I’ve experienced in the past. 

TIPS:

Ø  Offering mealworms when Bluebirds are not present is a sure way to feed a lot of other birds.  Wait until you see them before offering.

Ø  If birds that you do not want are getting the mealworms suspend offering the mealworms for a few days or more and start over using the suggestions we’ve outlined.

Ø  Bluebirds may partake of other foods like dried mealworms, suet, Bluebird nuggets (a type of suet), raisins, blueberries, chopped apple and grape.  Experiment and let us know your results.

Ø  Location is important.  Don’t try to feed them near birdfeeders or a place that gets a lot of bird traffic.

Ø  Some people employ the method of making a sound, like whistling, while they offer the worms.  Like Pavlov’s dogs Bluebirds will key in on the sound and associate the treat about to be given them.  I’m convinced that the Bluebirds we fed behind the store one year became familiar with the sound and sight of my truck arriving in the morning.  As soon as I would get out of the truck they would be landing on perches waiting for me to enter the store and bring out worms.

Remember, Bluebirds will not become dependent on the mealworms but will simply take advantage while they are offered.  You may suspend feeding them any time and not worry that they will starve.  

Bird Bio: Brown Creeper

I recently had the pleasure of spotting one of my favorite, but seldom seen, birds of winter, the Brown creeper.  It is not a rare bird to be seen but elusive for sure.  Every winter I get a few glimpses of a Brown creeper heading up the trunk of a tree where I have a suet feeder.  This is the only species that we have that only goes up a tree and never down.  It has an unusual way of foraging for food by creeping up a tree and then dropping down to the base of another tree and spiraling up. It’s very interesting to watch.  It’s found as an uncommon winter resident statewide October to April.  Brown creepers are very small and slim, and quite well camouflaged keeping to trunks of trees.  They are brown above and whitish below, with a slender de-curved (downward curve) bill.  Like a Carolina wren they have a prominent white eye stripe.  Brown creepers are primarily insect eaters but suet seems to be its preferred food at feeders, probably because it is found often on trunks of trees. So, next time we have a little inclement winter weather, that’s when they seem to appear, watch your suet feeder a little more closely. Look for this interesting and elusive little bird.

AND…check out the video I recently took of a Pileated woodpecker taking advantage of a water fountain in my yard.  It’s always a treat to see this bird and observe its interesting habits and behaviors, not to mention its stunning plumage, but it was especially nice to see it drinking.  I had never caught one using one of my water sources before.