In addition to this annoying habit House finches are prone to an avian form of conjunctivitis. Just yesterday I had a sick House finch on a platform feeder. With an abundance of House finches, we may see significant numbers of House Finches with an eye disease known as Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis, or House Finch eye disease. You might observe an infected bird sitting quietly in your yard, clumsily scratching an eye against its foot or a perch. While some infected birds recover, many die from starvation, exposure, or predation. If you’re a songbird it’s impossible to survive if you can’t see. We hear reports and see evidence of this every year that range from sparse to wide-spread.
Birds infected with House Finch eye disease have red, swollen, runny, or crusty eyes. In extreme cases the eyes become swollen shut and the bird becomes blind. House Finch eye disease is caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma gallisepticum. This bacterium has long been known as a pathogen of domestic turkeys and chickens, but it has been observed in House Finches since 1994. The disease has affected several other species, including American Goldfinch, Evening Grosbeak, and Purple Finch
If you detect a sick finch at your feeder the standard procedure is to take down your feeders for a few days to a week and give them a very thorough cleaning. Cleaning your feeders is always a good idea and is recommended it be done on a regular basis. Soap and hot water and a good brush are recommended for cleaning and Clorox wipes are very handy to give feeding ports a thorough cleaning.
Hummingbird Activity Slowly Building
Many of you are seeing much better activity at the hummingbird feeders in recent days. At my feeders I’ve seen a 50% increase compared to last week. I believe the peak for hummer activity is still coming in the weeks ahead so even if activity has been somewhat disappointing thus far there is still time to see a major surge well in to September during migration.