If the dead birds were siskins, redpolls, or goldfinches, my first reaction is that the birds died from salmonellosis, and potentially you might have observed these birds sitting motionless and incredibly puffed up near the bird feeder at some point before you found the dead bird on the ground.
Salmonellosis outbreaks, which particularly hit siskins and redpolls, are an unfortunately predictable corollary of irruptions of these species. Taking down your thistle feeder to disperse the birds might reduce further transmission, but it's hard to tell because the birds could just start congregating (maybe in larger numbers) at some other bird feeder in the area. Wesley Hochachka -----Original Message----- From: bounce-125406737-3494...@list.cornell.edu <bounce-125406737-3494...@list.cornell.edu> On Behalf Of Patrizia Sione Sent: Monday, February 22, 2021 9:30 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Dead birds under the thistle feeder Hello all, In the course of the past 10 days, we have discovered a dead bird under a feeder in three separate occasions, the latest this morning. No apparent injury. The thistle is fresh (it goes pretty quickly) and we keep the feeders clean and sanitized. We called the Cornell hospital but they did not accept our request to have a necropsy conducted on the birds (we kept two of them in a sealed freezer bag outside). We have decals and nets outside our windows to prevent birds from hitting them. Any ideas about what could be causing this and how to prevent it from happening again? It is the first time it has ever happened to us in the 10 years we’ve lived in our present location, and all this time we’ve fed birds. Many thanks, Patrizia Sione -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
