Hello-
I live in Tukwila and have had at least one, possible two pine siskins
die near my feeders lately. I have been using two cylinder feeders for
them: one with a nyjer/sunflower bit mixture; the other with black oil
sunflower. I switched from straight nyjer to the "finch mixture" in late
winter. (I have suet feeders and a hopper feeder for other birds). I
clean the feeders approx. twice a month. There is not crowding. When I
noticed the first sick bird, I cleaned the feeders thoroughly, and again
today when the second (?) showed up. They seem to be part of a little
group which has stuck around since my big flock of regulars dispersed
early this spring. Do I need to dispose of the food that is still in
the feeder when I see the affected bird? They are fluffed up, breathing
a bit heavily-I was looking for loss of balance and squinting, as I just
read about salmonellosis (sp?) which I understand includes those
symptoms. It's hard to say. They (he? she?) became very lethargic,
continued to eat and drink until almost the end, then died. This within
a few hours of my noticing that something was wrong. Although the first
bird seemed lethargic for more than a day; and I'm still not sure
whether it was the same bird. My bird bath is copper. I hose it out
daily and brush it once a week or so. I don't use pesticides in my
garden. I didn't see any signs of trauma on the bird. The house
finches, black caps, flickers, and all my other regulars seem fine.
Can someone help?
Thank you so much-- Tawney