Bird deaths raise concerns

The variety of birds that are dying in mysterious ways is growing, though it is unknown whether whatever has been causing birds to die is spreading to other species.

First reported in the spring, the dying birds have led to recommendations to bring in bird feeders and birdbaths, so birds won’t gather and possibly spread a virus or parasite.

On Tuesday, a roseate tern was found with neurological symptoms at Sandy Point in West Haven, Patrick Comins, executive director of the Connecticut Audubon Society, said Wednesday. “There are a lot of things that can cause that, blue-green algae or red tide.”

It was sent to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and is being tested at the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in Storrs.

Within the last two weeks, several swans and ducks were found dead in Great Meadows Marsh in Stratford, Comins said. Boom cannons were brought in to scare away other waterfowl. “They were kind of floating face down in the water and that’s usually how botulism plays out,” he said. But that hasn’t been determined.

During an online webinar Wednesday, Jenny Dickson, director of DEEP’s Wildlife Division, said terns and raptors have been reported with symptoms that come with the mystery syndrome: swollen and crusty eyes, neurological problems such as an inability to stand.

And Brian Evans, migratory bird ecologist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, located at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., said that while reports are “really, really scant,” chickens have been reported with symptoms.

All these add to the growing list of songbirds, woodpeckers and hummingbirds that are being tested at the UConn lab in Storrs.

The cause of death of each bird could be a number of things, but “all this points to us proceeding with an abundance of caution and to continue to putting as many resources as we can into finding the culprit and to try to solve this,” Comins said.

“We know that most of this is unknowns,” Evans said. “We all have to be community scientists. We’ve got to be eyes and ears on the ground.”

Evans said rehabilitation intakes in Virginia have gone up 30 percent to 40 percent, which “doesn’t include dead birds for sure, and many birds that are injured or die never make it to a rehab center. … It spans over 70 species that fit what we expect to be the symptoms of this.”

“Since July 1, we’ve had 413 birds reported. Nearly a third of the birds reported since 2006 have been reported in the last month,” Dickson said.

She said the guidance on bird feeders and birdbaths will remain in effect until the number of reports decreases substantially.

Salvatore Frasca, director of the UConn lab, said the first tests are being conducted looking for known pathogens, such as viruses, or pesticides. Comins said looking for “a novel pathogen or are there other chemicals or toxicology involved … takes longer. You’re looking for something new. It’s a more complicated science.”

As long as whatever is sickening and killing birds is still unknown, the best thing to do is to treat them as if they have a contagious disease, Comins said.

That means wearing gloves and a mask when handling them, keeping bird feeders and birdbaths put away and reporting any dead birds.