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Kindness Can Kill - Bird Lovers Urged To Clean Up At Feeding Time

SAC News Release Ref. No: 10N25
Published: 07 Apr 2010

There is no doubt that many of our garden birds owe their lives to the feed put out by the public this winter, but specialists at SAC are warning that unless people take care those places where the birds are fed could be the death of them.

Long-term disease surveillance, carried out by SAC vets and colleagues, shows that the Salmonella infection some birds carry can build up on feeders or drinkers, killing birds already vulnerable after a hard winter.

In a paper published in this week’s professional journal, The Veterinary Record, Tom Pennycott (SAC Consulting Veterinary Services, Ayr) and colleagues describe the findings from 198 incidents of salmonellosis in garden birds in Scotland between 1995 and 2008. In the north of Scotland finches, especially greenfinches, were most commonly involved, but in the south of Scotland Salmonella infection was also a problem in house sparrows.

Their long term survey also highlights significant differences in the strains of Salmonella found in the north and the south of Scotland. In the north one type predominated but in the south of Scotland two types were commonly found. This large number of incidents, spread over 13 years, provides invaluable information on which to measure and assess any possible changes in the pattern of salmonellosis.

Bird lovers should remember that Salmonella from wild birds can sometimes cause disease in humans or pets and should take care, washing and drying their hands thoroughly after cleaning bird feeders or handling sick or dead birds. They should clean and disinfect feeders and feeding stations regularly and allow them to dry before using them again.

By using several feeding sites, people can reduce bird numbers in any one place and moving the feeding sites regularly can reduce any build-up of debris and infectious agents around the feeders.  Even occasional rest periods will help to reduce levels of contamination.

However Salmonella is not the only challenge facing our garden birds. In May this year Tom Pennycott travels to an international symposium in London to talk about what is happening to greenfinches.

Long-term monitoring from 1995 has identified a recent dramatic fall in the number of greenfinches found dead from salmonellosis.  For the first three years of the survey 34 of 36 garden birds with salmonellosis were greenfinches. In the last three years (to end of March 2010), only 8 of 38 infected birds were greenfinches, but what looks like a good news story is not so simple. 

Tom believes the reduction in greenfinches found with Salmonella may be as much to do with a more significant overall fall in greenfinch numbers.  He believes this may be due to another infection of garden birds, this time a single cell creature or protozoa called trichomonosis. Trichomonosis infects the bird’s crop and gullet and was first diagnosed by SAC Veterinary Services in Scotland in 2005 and has since become widespread in Britain.

Tom believes that for greenfinches this double disease whammy may have proved too much. He urges all those who love their garden birds to remember the key hygiene messages when they are next filling their feeders.

If they do find an unusually large numbers of dead garden birds, contact SAC or RSPB.

They should reduce or stop feeding for two weeks. This encourages the birds to disperse and reduces the chance of new birds becoming infected.  Feeding can then be gradually re-introduced, watching for any signs of ill-health. Birdbaths or drinkers might be left empty for a short while, or at least refresh drinking water daily.

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News Release Contacts

SAC Contact

Mr Tom Pennycott
Veterinary Centre Manager
SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Work Disease Surveillance Centre, Auchincruive,
Ayr
KA6 5AE
TelWork +44 (0) 1292 520 318
Fax 01292 521069

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News Release Issued By

Mr Ken Rundle
Senior Communications Officer
SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Work SAC, King's Buildings, West Mains Road,
Edinburgh
EH9 3JG
TelWork 0131 535 4196

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