‘Mystery’ ailment killing songbirds may be in CT
Something is killing songbirds and, as of yet, nobody knows what it is.
“It’s still a mystery,” said Patrick Comins, executive director of the Connecticut Audubon Society.
Blue jays, cardinals, grackles, finches and other songbirds are being found dead in mid-Atlantic states such as Pennsylvania, and others, including Ohio and Indiana. There are indications that the mystery affliction is spreading.
“We’re already starting to get reports of bird deaths,” Comins said. “If these early reports of birds deaths are related to this it’s an extremely bad problem.”
Though there have been reports of an unusually large number of bird deaths from various parts of Connecticut, Comins said the trademark swollen, crusty eyes of this affliction have not been confirmed.
Wild songbirds had been found dead with swollen eyes and crusty discharges in April, and researchers began testing for diseases.
The first outbreak had coincided with the emergence of large numbers of cicadas, and it was conjectured that the two things were related. But that lead turned out to be a dead end: The disease, or whatever it is, has been killing birds where there are no cicadas.
“We still don’t know what killed the birds from the first round of it,” Comins said.
Researchers have tested dead birds for every pathogen known to affect bird populations, Comins said: “We’ve tested them for pretty much everything we know kills birds.”
That includes Newcastle disease, a parasite called trichomonas, salmonella, West Nile virus, avian influenza and more, but to no avail. That leaves a few possibilities.
“It could be something novel,” Comins said, or it could be a reaction to pesticides. “We’re trying to identify the culprit. It’s pretty scary stuff.”
In the meantime, the Audubon society is asking residents to take down bird feeders and bird baths in order to keep the birds as socially distanced as possible if it does turn out to be a communicable disease.
“By creating these concentration points it’s sort of like a restaurant,” Comins said.
And depending how bad the outbreak gets, there could be a knock-on effect. There are birds that like to eat ticks, others that prefer mosquitoes.
“Once you remove one of the strands of the food web, you don’t know what effect it’s going to have,” Comins said.