With the warm weather comes the influx of wild birds to your yard. As a homowener, you will probably welcome these birds with food and birdhouses. However, it is often asked if there is a potential for the Bird Flu to be carried to my backyard by these migratory songbirds? Should I be worried? Should I avoid feeding or hosting our lovely birds?
The United States is preparing for the eventual spread of the avian flu to this country and has an aggressive interagency detection program led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This involves testing of tens of thousands of live and dead birds from our coastal regions, including Alaska, which is the state in closest proximity to Asia. In addition, the USDA has a "Biosecurity for the Birds" program, which provides important information about reducing the probability of birds becoming infected with the avian flu. This program develops practical, common sense management practices to keep the avian flu and other poultry diseases out of our commercial and backyard flocks.
The good news is that up to this point, the avian flu has not been detected in the United States, although some predict that it is only a matter of time before it affects this country. The avian flu is carried primarily by waterfowl and shore birds but is also found in domestic poultry such as chickens. Testing and anecdotal evidence shows with confidence that your desirable wild birds such as robins, cardinals, blue birds, woodpeckers, purple martins, and hummingbirds are unaffected.
The Department of Interior's National Wildlife Health Center has issued guidance to follow routine precautions when handling wild birds. This is not because there is a threat at this time for avian flu but for general hygiene against other bird-related illnesses.
The Center recommends that people handling wild birds:
1) Do not handle birds that are obviously sick or birds found dead,
2) Wear rubber or disposable latex gloves while handling (and cleaning) game, wash hands with soap and water (or with alcohol-based hand products if the hands are not visibly soiled), and thoroughly clean knives, equipment and surfaces that come in contact with game,
3) Do not eat, drink, or smoke while handling or cleaning birds.
The recommendation is that you should definitely keep attracting wild songbirds to your home through the use of nesting boxes or houses, bird feed and seed stations, and birdbaths. At the time of writing this article, no bird flu has been found in the United States or Canada, especially not in songbird populations. Always be prudent and pay attention to the local news agencies for news about the spread of the bird flu AND other related illnesses such as West Nile.
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For more information about wild birds, songbirds and how to attract them to your backyard, go to
http://www.TheBirdWarehouse.com and browse. You may also email Mike Kershaw at admin@thebirdwarehouse.com
