The Madman’s Birds and Social Distancing

The madman is celebrating. I didn’t even know he could do a cartwheel. He had been so sad for the past few weeks. Last year, the pandemic was bad enough. No Family. No Friends. (Except for FaceTime and Zoom). No band. No travel. We didn’t go out, period. Then we were told to provide social distancing for the songbirds.

Native Wildlife

For the past year we had focused on the native wildlife – the birds, the bees, the butterflies and anything else that wandered into our backyard. We kept our bird feeders full and our eyes open as the wildlife changed with the seasons. It wasn’t the same as hugs from the grandchildren or smiles from friends, but we began to adopt the wild critters that showed up. The Three Musketeers. Wiggins the feral cat. The brown-nosed squirrel. The elusive bobcat. Stubby the Hummingbird. We even enjoyed the three grumpy old male turkeys. And, we delighted when the females and the poults showed up – all 18 of them. Then it hit. No, we aren’t talking about the Delta variant. We are talking about the mysterious condition affecting songbirds that was causing experts to recommend social distancing for songbirds.

About a month ago, the madman had noticed a posting on social media. Some birder was urging everyone to stop feeding the birds. It seems there was a strange disease working its way from the mid-Atlantic to New England. Songbirds were dying. The madman said, “uh-oh!” But that was it.

Then, a couple of weeks ago he read an article in the morning paper. The gist of the article was to take down all feeders including Hummingbird feeders. Although he doesn’t believe everything he reads, this got the madman worried. What if this was true?

Ask The Expert

He reached out to fellow Master Gardener and avid birder, Rob Mirer, for advice. Rob said that not much was known about this at the time except that it was possibly transmitted from species to species. A variety of different birds congregate at birdfeeders and birdbaths, making for ease of transmission. Thus, the push for their removal to create social distancing for songbirds. Sound familiar?

At first Rob said he would take down all his feeders except for the one that was supporting a hen turkey and her three poults. He was also leaving a Hummingbird feeder up. The madman felt a little relieved and said, “I can live with this.” This email was almost immediately followed by another saying all feeders were coming down. Depression returned.

The next day, Rob send another email announcing a Zoom conference with bird experts on this topic. The madman signed up. At the appointed time he joined nearly 500 others to hear the depressing news.

Dèjá Vu

Experts from the Connecticut Audubon Society, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the Smithsonian and UConn all agreed that the best course of action was to take down the feeders until more was known about the condition. The madman looked at me and said, “This reminds me of what happened a year and a half ago.”

COVID was new back then and little was known about the virus. Early last year, people were told to keep clear of each other, wear a mask and wash their hands – until we know more about what’s going on. A lot of lives were lost before people took it seriously and even more were lost by people not listening to the experts.

The Bird Feeders Came Down

So, our bird feeders, Hummingbird feeders and bird baths came down to help provide some social distancing for songbirds. We soaked them in a 10% bleach solution. Then, we put them aside waiting to get an all clear. We knew that as soon as that happened, we’d put them up immediately.

So here’s what’s been going on. The mystery started around Washington D.C. and surrounding states in May, 2021. People began reporting dead and dying birds to wildlife managers in these areas. Then reports began to come in from further away, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Different Symptoms

Bird deaths, especially among fledglings, are common at that time of the year. But, the reported symptoms of this condition were different. They could be ocular, neurological or both. The eyes of affected birds appear crusty or swollen and bulging. The neurological signs include tics, tremors or difficulty standing. So far, no bird has survived this condition. Experts don’t know the cause, but have ruled out Avian flu and Newcastle disease.

If you find a dead bird or one with the above symptoms, do not touch it and keep pets away. Call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator – click here to find one in your area. Admittedly, the number of birds found in Connecticut has been small. But, remember, COVID started small.

Most of the affected birds have been Grackles, Blue Jays, European Starlings and American Robins. But, sparrows, Cardinals and other songbirds have also joined the list. The recommendations to remove feeders and birdbaths was an effort to stem species to species contact by removing congregating areas – much like closing  bars and restaurants.

Birds Won’t Starve

But, don’t despair. As Rob told the madman, the birds always find plenty to eat in your garden. Hooray for our gardening philosophy – gardening for the wildlife. We couldn’t sit by the back window and watch the birds flit around the feeders, but we could hear them in the woods and see them foraging in the garden. In fact, when DEEP made the bird feeder down recommendation, they considered how much natural food is available to the birds.

The Woods Are Full

The woods surrounding our house are full of berries and insects. And, thanks to our gardening for the natives philosophy, we know our birds won’t starve. Our plantings aren’t totally native, mostly because some of the plants the madman likes are from other parts of the world, like his beloved Castor Bean. But, we have carefully tried only to introduce a few non-natives, and while some of our plants aren’t native to Connecticut, they are native to North America and seem to get plenty of visits from our friends.

Checking Daily

We checked the DEEP website daily – me, looking for news and the madman, looking for the all clear signal so he could run out with his bird feeders. He kept telling me that it hurt to do the right thing, and I reminded him that even the DEEP website said, “Thank you for helping to keep our songbirds safe.”

Then came the email from Rob – bird deaths are declining, ALL CLEAR! The madman put the feeders back up. He’ll keep the chair he set in the side garden to see the Hummingbirds in the glads and the Goldfinches on the Zinnias. But, now, we’ll be able to watch them from our table at the window.

I see he’s sitting in the garden again – I guess I’ll bring him some lemonade.