Yes, bird feeders provide great backyard wildlife viewing opportunities. The Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and our own Colorado Parks and Wildlife website are a great place to start researching native plants for our winged wildlife. Store bird food in a clean and dry location to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and toxic molds.Īlso, make sure you are aware of bird food recalls in case the feed is contaminated prior to purchase.īird baths should also be cleaned regularly, at least once every few days.Ī better option altogether would be integrating native plants into your landscape that attract birds and provide a natural food source. Not only does this help prevent the aforementioned issues such as attracting deer and bears, but it also prevents birds from eating food that has been defecated on after it has dropped. Clean the area under bird feeders where seed may drop.
They should be washed at least once every two weeks in the dishwasher or using soapy water followed by a rinse with a 10 percent bleach solution.Īvoid using platform style feeders, which allow birds to defecate on food. If you do decide to use bird feeders, provide multiple feeders to prevent crowding and keep them clean. You may be wondering what you can do to help us prevent these issues. But, if you own poultry, removing bird feeders from areas where domestic poultry reside will help to reduce the risk of virus transmission from contacts between wild and domestic birds. Songbirds do not appear to be significantly affected by the currently circulating strain of HPAI. Most HPAI cases in Colorado wildlife have been identified in waterfowl and the birds that eat waterfowl. Luckily, CPW has not identified HPAI in songbirds. Affected wild turkeys will often die.Īnother virus seen where birds are fed is pigeon paramyxovirus, a virus that rapidly kills large numbers of affected pigeons or doves.Īnd I haven’t even mentioned yet the issue that has decimated some bird populations of late: highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).Īfter months of making headlines about bird kills, HPAI isn’t front-page news right now. The disease causes pustules on the head, feet, and other unfeathered skin, but also causes similar pustules inside the bird’s mouth and throat. This bacteria causes finch eye disease and has been diagnosed in several Colorado finches with swollen infected eyes leading to blindness and death.Īvian pox is a viral disease that can be spread to any species of bird, but is particularly severe in our wild turkeys. Mycoplasma gallisepticum is a bacteria that CPW is seeing more cases of in recent years. Trichomoniasis is a parasitic disease spread through feeding, and it is particularly hard on doves, causing inflammation in the throat that can cause birds to starve. coli affect all species of birds, but are particularly hard on finches, pine siskins, grosbeaks, and cross bills at Colorado bird feeders.
The staff at our wildlife health lab provided some great information on this issue.īacteria like Salmonella and E. These bacteria, viruses and parasites can be particularly hard on birds that are already stressed from a recent migration. Bacteria, viruses, and parasites are readily spread through feces, shared food and direct contact at bird feeders. Did you know bird feeders often cause diseases to spread among our bird populations?Įvery year, CPW officers respond to numerous reports of dead songbirds that show signs of diseases contracted at bird feeders. That’s why you hear us repeatedly asking everyone to help us keep wild animals alive and wild by removing or making such attractants inaccessible, particularly during months when bears are active.īut the problem with bird feeders isn’t just the fact they attract predators. Eliminating attractants also eliminates the conflicts that cost wildlife their lives. Bears also like piles of birdseed on the ground and will knock down feeders hung lower than 10 feet from the ground. Besides attracting birds, they also attract deer, and in turn can bring their primary predator, mountain lions, into our neighborhoods. That’s the problem with bird feeders and the seed that drops on the ground. Our CPW team has been busy this summer chasing off numerous bears that thought they had found themselves an easy and nutritious meal that happened to be in someone’s front yard or on their deck.
Whether that be trash, your outdoor grill, or easily accessible food sources like, you guessed it, bird feeders. Where you see a harmless way to bring colorful birds to your window or porch, my wildlife colleagues and I see attractants that can lure predators to your doorstep.Īnd we see hotspots for disease that can sicken and kill our feathered wildlife.Īs I’m sure you are all well aware, one of the easiest steps we can take to prevent wildlife conflict is removing sources of attractants.
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