(440) 286-9516Can I start filling my bird feeders now? Is bird flu still an issue? My friends with chickens don't let their chickens out so they don't have contact with the wild birds. Is there extra hygiene of the feeders I need to do? Thank you.
Can I start filling my bird feeders now? Is bird flu still an issue? My friends with chickens don't let their chickens out so they don't have contact with the wild birds. Is there extra hygiene of the feeders I need to do? Thank you.
Thanks for your question!
The newest strain of avian influenza (“Highly-Pathogenic Avian Influenza,” or HPAI if you want to sound like the cool kids) seems to primarily affect waterfowl and domestic poultry; songbirds seem to be at low risk.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology recommends that backyard songbird feeders resume feeding this winter. (As always, they still recommend cleaning bird baths regularly.)
The Ohio Division of Wildlife ended its recommendation that backyard feeders be taken down back in 2021, but Illinois only recently recommended they be taken down. Local recommendations could change again in the future, too, so it’s wise to check for updates.
Here at The West Woods Nature Center, we clean our feeders monthly following these handy instructions. Thankfully we haven’t spotted any diseased songbirds locally, either, giving us all the more reason to look forward to observing the winter feeding season through our lobby’s gargantuan windows!
Red-bellied Woodpecker at The West Woods Nature Center’s Wildlife Feeding Station
-Naturalist Chris Mentrek
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