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Cornell Lab of Ornithology feeders
Ontario (winter only)
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Jesse Schmidt
Fulton, MO, USA
This house finch visited my feeder April 24th. I believe it has finch eye conjunctivitis, Mycoplasma gallisepticum. After seeing him I decontaminated my bird feeders with hot soapy water, then bleach, and finally soaked it in hot water for good measure. I also composted the seeds and waited 3 days before setting my feeders out again.
Eye problems
Tag:
We like to feed the California Scrub Jays here in Pasadena. I noticed the female of new pair has a red eye?
Is this contagious? Is there anything we can or should do or not to help?
Hi Laura, Mycoplasmal convunctivitis has only been found in members of the finch family so far, but that doesn’t mean your scrub-jay isn’t sick with something else. Regardless of the disease, we recommend anytime you see a sick bird, that it’s best to take your feeders down and clean them. Cleaning them regularly (every 1-2 weeks) is the best way to prevent disease, even when you see no sick birds. You can learn more about bird diseases and how best to clean your feeders here. Please also note that it is against federal law to handle to treat wild birds without a federal permit. If you’re particularly worried about an individual, the best thing to do is to call a local wildlife rehabilitator before taking action. If you’re not sure who that is, your state’s wildlife office should have a list of rehabilitators that are federally certified.
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