I recently saw 3 young Great Horned Owls with red spots where the upper bill meets the face, at the top of the bill. In some of my digiscoped photos I can see a fly partially in a cavity at that spot, so it seems to be a hole. They were in lower Hardy Canyon, Yakima County. I digiscoped photos in the wind, so they're not entirely sharp. There were red berries nearby & on the ground, but the owls red spots were certainly not berries.
I also saw a Downy Woodpecker with a growth on her upper bill, at the Yakima Greenway Path. Again I digiscoped photos.
The Downy might have Avian Pox, but my cursory web search didn't find any mention of Downies with Avian Pox. I have no idea about the owls.
I posted 3 photos at www.kevinslucas.com, Image Gallery: Bird bill abnormalities.
I can post or email more cropped photos.
Can you help me identify the conditions, and whether there's anywhere to report such sightings?
Thanks,
Kevin Lucas
Yakima, WA
vikingcove
an address using gmail