Environmental notebook

Birds’ illness tied to unclean feeders

An increasing number of sick birds in the state could be linked to dirty feeders, according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Birdwatchers have reported seeing house finches, purple finches and goldfinches with crusty infections around their eyes, according to Karen Rowe, commission non-game migratory bird program coordinator. The infection is from the disease called mycoplasmal conjunctivitis — or finch conjunctivitis — according to a March 17 post on the commission’s website.

Salmonella outbreaks among siskins were also reported beginning last month in the Wild Birds Unlimited Facebook group and other social media groups. Signs of infection can include lethargy, having their feathers fluffed up, and staying on the ground and avoiding flight, according to a University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture news release sent March 23.

Keeping bird feeders clean can help prevent the spread of diseases, because bacteria and fungi can also grow in spoiled feed, according to the commission.

While finch conjunctivitis isn’t transmissible to people or other mammalian pets, salmonella can be. The commission recommends wearing rubber gloves when cleaning feeders, and washing and disinfecting all items that come in contact with a dirty feeder.

Sightings of groups of sick or dead birds should be reported to the commission at: agfc.health@agfc.ar.gov.

Crews to unplug drains near lake

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission contractors and staff members are working to open plugged drains along Mallard Pond Road in the Henry Gray Hurricane Lake Wildlife Management Area this year, according to a recent commission news release.

Routes will be changed along this road as drains are replaced with bridges and low-water crossings to help address the drainage issues linked to the declining forest health in that area, according to a March 19 news release.

“The road is essentially acting as a levee, and these plugs were placed over the years to hold water back and increase reliable flooding, but we need to manage this area differently if we are going to benefit the forest and the waterfowl that use it in the long run,” Luke Naylor, commission waterfowl program coordinator, said in the news release. “We have to let water rise and fall in the system if we’re going to save it, and these plugs need to go.”

This project is part of ongoing efforts to maintain the health of seasonally flooded bottomland hardwood forests known as greentree reservoirs on the state’s public land. More information can be found at: agfc.com/gtr.