my apologies if this was previously posted. Please be on the lookout  
for sick siskins.

Excerpt about preventing spread of disease, for those who don't want  
to read appended messages below:

> Shannon Kearney, from the D.E.P. Wildlife Division, said that
> these symptoms are consistent with Salmonella poisoning.
...
> Therefore, we are advising people who feed birds to take
> precautions to try to lesson the spread of this disease. The  
> primary means
> of doing this is to clean feeders as best as possible with a 10%
> bleach/water solution at least once a month, and maybe more often  
> if they
> look messy. Equally important is making sure that feeders don't  
> contain
> moldy seed. Many types of mold also sicken birds. Whenever  
> possible, seed
> shells and other stuff accumulated under feeders should be shoveled- 
> up and
> disposed of. Bird baths should be flushed-out with fresh water  
> every day.


- shireen


Begin forwarded message:

> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> -----
> From: Bill Stewart <>
> Date: April 8, 2009 1:55:35 PM EDT
> To: 
> Subject: [de-birds] Fwd: [PABIRDS] sick Pine siskins - York County
> Reply-To: Bill Stewart <>
>
> Good afternoon DE-Birders,
>
> I am forwarding this informational post from PABIRDS with  
> permission from Daniel Williams pertaining to some avoidable  
> consequences of this years siskin invasion.  We all should heed the  
> warning and be good caretakers to these northern visitors who have  
> delighted us over this past winter.
>
> Bill Stewart
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> -----
> From: Daniel Williams <>
> Date: April 8, 2009 8:02:59 AM EDT
> To: 
> Subject: Re: [PABIRDS] sick Pine siskins - York County
> Reply-To: Daniel Williams <>
>
> Sadly, here in Connecticut people have been having the same  
> problems with dead siskins.  Here's what one wildlife biologist  
> recommended for those maintaining feeders:
> Over the course of the past week the state D.E.P. Wildlife Division  
> and the
> White Memorial Conservation Center have received multiple reports  
> of dead
> and sick Pine Siskins at bird feeding stations. Most of the sick  
> birds are
> exhibiting varying levels of lethargy, frequent sleeping, and some  
> loss of
> motor control. Shannon Kearney, from the D.E.P. Wildlife Division,  
> said that
> these symptoms are consistent with Salmonella poisoning. Pine  
> Siskins seem
> to be more prone to contracting this disease than other birds  
> because of a
> combination of their physiology, eating habits, and very close  
> association
> with each other all the time. The disease may be more prevalent now  
> because
> warmer temperatures are more conducive to its growth in old bird  
> seed. It is
> more prevalent in wet conditions (as created by melting snow and  
> ice) than
> dry situations. Therefore, we are advising people who feed birds to  
> take
> precautions to try to lesson the spread of this disease. The  
> primary means
> of doing this is to clean feeders as best as possible with a 10%
> bleach/water solution at least once a month, and maybe more often  
> if they
> look messy. Equally important is making sure that feeders don't  
> contain
> moldy seed. Many types of mold also sicken birds. Whenever  
> possible, seed
> shells and other stuff accumulated under feeders should be shoveled- 
> up and
> disposed of. Bird baths should be flushed-out with fresh water  
> every day.
> While these measures aren't the whole answer to the problem, they  
> can help
> to slow the spread of diseases.
> I hope enough people are proactive so that PA's siskins fare better  
> than Connecticut's.  Let's clean our feeders before dead birds  
> start showing up.
>
> Dan Williams
> New Haven, CT
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Ann Pettigrew <>
> To: 
> Sent: Tuesday, April 7, 2009 8:23:02 PM
> Subject: [PABIRDS] sick Pine siskins - York County
>
> I noticed a dead bird near one of my feeders 2 days ago and  
> discovered that it was a dead Pine Siskin.  As I was checking the  
> body I noticed a siskin feeding a foot from where I was standing  
> and reached down and picked it up.  Obviously, something was  
> terribly wrong with that bird as well for him to let me pick it  
> up.  He had food in his mouth which he started to push out as I  
> picked him up.  As it was getting near to sunset I placed him in  
> some dense cover.  Have I missed any threads about dead pine  
> siskins?  I have had several different Cooper's hawks all winter  
> and spring coming in and scattering the siskins on at least a  
> weekly basis.  I have found at least 4 or 5 dead siskins next to  
> the house that I suspected were crashing into it in their panic to  
> get away but now, after finding these two birds, I wonder if  
> something else is killing them.
>
> On a brighter note I had a male Purple Finch bathing in the stream  
> on Sunday.  Sorry for the late post but our e-mail has been down.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ann Pettigrew
> York, PA
> 
> ________________________________
>


Shireen Gonzaga
Baltimore, MD