Illinois DNR recommends taking down bird feeders due to avian flu outbreak
State wildlife officials on Thursday advised Illinois residents to temporarily take down bird feeders and bird baths to help curtail the spread of avian flu.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources recommended halting the use of bird feeders — especially those visited by waterfowl — through May 31, or until bird flu cases subside in the Midwest. During the spring, birds will have ample food sources while feeders are removed, wildlife experts say.
A highly contagious form of bird flu was first detected March 10 in wild Canada geese in Illinois. Since then, virus deaths have been confirmed among wild birds in Champaign, Fulton, Sangamon and Will counties.
Cook County Forest Preserve biologists suspected bird flu caused the recent deaths of more than 200 double-crested cormorants at a lake and man-made rookery in Barrington.
The National Veterinary Services Laboratories has received some samples from the forest preserve district, and has detected highly pathogenic avian influenza in those samples, according to Tanya Espinosa, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson.
“This is not surprising considering the variety of bird species we are detecting the virus in this year, and the geographic spread of the disease,” Espinosa said. “In Illinois, the disease has also been detected in Canada geese, a mallard, and a Ross's goose.”
Bird flu viruses are classified as low pathogenic or highly pathogenic based on their genetic features and the severity of the disease in poultry.
More than 40 bald eagles in 15 states have died from bird flu, including one in Will County, according to the USDA. IDNR is requesting that deceased or sickened bald eagles be reported to the agency.
Raptors are likely to show signs of illness if they become infected, said Dr. Sarah Reich, head veterinarian at Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn, an animal rehabilitation facility that has taken precautions to protect birds in its care.
Before IDNR issued the new recommendations, Reich said there are numerous other reasons to take down backyard feeders.
“The spread of other diseases like mycoplasma, salmonella, things like that, definitely make it hard for us to recommend having feeders in general,” Reich said.
Other IDNR recommendations: Clean and rinse bird feeders and baths with a diluted bleach solution (nine parts water to one part bleach) and put away or clean weekly if they can't be moved away from birds. Remove any bird seed at the base of feeders to discourage large gatherings of birds or other wildlife. And avoid feeding wild birds in proximity to domestic flocks.
If five or more deceased wild birds are found in one location, contact an IDNR district wildlife biologist or USDA Wildlife Services at 1-866-487-3297. Contact information for district wildlife biologists is available on the IDNR website.