The Big Yard: Notes from a Pajama Birdwatcher
February 14, 2025
Love in the time of Bird Flu.
This morning, I count 144 pine siskins in the winter-bared pear tree where they sing and wait for my offering of thistle seed. Their numbers have been growing since October. Without any significant rain in months, their white droppings speckle everything: the fountain rocks and tree trunks, the bricks and fences and grass. It’s as if someone dusted the place with powdered sugar.
I’m worried about it. The birds. I found a dead hermit thrush the other day at the side of the house, a probable window strike since I saw no sign of sickness like watery eyes or nasal discharge. We place mobiles of glass beads and crystal prisms in our windows but strikes still happen. Our local Cooper’s hawk has learned to flush doves into my study window and make easy pickings of the stunned birds. Clever girl, I thought, watching her pluck breast feathers and release them into a breeze.
The siskins seem fine. But they’re such a large flock—the largest I’ve seen here—and they mix with other sparrows and finches clinging to the feeders and trickling fountain. And we have chickens. A poultry farm two counties to the north has tested positive to avian flu. In Maricopa County, officials found the virus in wastewater last December. A backyard flock of wild birds also tested positive. Five animals died at wildlife zoo.
And now, just today, officials at the Arizona Department of Agriculture have detected the H5N1 avian influenza virus in milk from a dairy in Maricopa County.
That’s 200 miles away.
And birds have wings.
As yet, the USDA does not recommend taking down backyard feeders—with one exception. “Unless you take care of poultry.” In this case, I should remove sources of food, water, and shelter that attract wild birds.
I’ve already started cutting back on birdseed. But maybe it’s the chickens that should go.
Thanks for reading!
We've have problems with bird flu in the UK too. The government seems to do very little, apart from trying to control outbreaks in commercial flocks. When we moved house, our plan was to have a few chickens in the garden, but ultimately decided not to because of bird flu. We also now try to provide the birds with natural sources of seed etc. with what we plant and grow in the garden and try to minimise supplementary feeding. It's sad to have to do this, almost feels like I'm trying to discourage the birds.
I quit putting out seed feeders just for that reason. I don't know if it'll help, but it's what I can do. I'm planting food and habitat by returning native plants to my town yard, and I hope that helps too.