Just went up to OWL to give them a Douglas Squirrel my dog nabbed
yesterday, sad end for a bitchy little yard mascot but a wholesome meal for
one of their 70-odd birds. A rain squall following the cold front had just
gone through, complete w/ a little hail, and even though, like you, I
didn't want to be out in the rain, there were a lot of birds around right
after it moved through. I sat and watched a female COOPER'S HAWK as she
sat drying on a wire across the road, all poofed out and nearly dripping,
plus two male and one female NORTHERN HARRIER, two immature and nine mature
BALD EAGLES. I always have had really good luck right after a system moves
through, especially in my canoe.

Jack Kintner kintner at nas.com Blaine


At 11:57 AM 3/15/01 -0800, you wrote:
>There has been much discussion about the cleaning of bird feeders to prevent
>contagious diseases, and of course I think this is important when feeding
>birds in general (at least I assume it is; I don't know how much science
>backs up this belief). However, I'm fairly convinced that it isn't the
>answer to the siskin/salmonella problem. Any time an infected siskin visits
>your feeder and defecates in the seed tray, it is a potential source of
>infection for any other siskin that feeds in the same place. As they
>typically come in flocks and displace one another regularly, numerous
>siskins will partake of the infected feeding spot. And sick siskins tend to
>feed for long periods, so they will surely leave deposits while taking their
>seed withdrawals. Thus even if you cleaned the feeder every day, I think
>there would be a substantial probability of infection.
>
> >From my limited knowledge base, I would repeat that I think this is much
>more of a problem with siskins than other birds. Juncos and House Finches
>have regularly fed at our thistle feeder, yet I have seen no apparently sick
>individuals of these species (although I know salmonella has been found in
>other finches).
>
>What a rainy day - isn't it great! It ruined an intended birding trip for
>us today, but I won't complain.
>
>Dennis Paulson
>--
>Netta Smith and Dennis Paulson
>1724 NE 98 St.
>Seattle, WA 98115