What is the eye disease Ive noticed in my House Finches?
There is an epidemic of conjunctivitis, an eye disease, in House Finches. Scientists first cited incidents of the disease around 1994. The eyes emit a discharge, they get cloudy, and finally the birds are blinded. One of the causes of the disease’s spread, unfortunately, is a lack of regular cleaning of feeders. Birds congregate there, pushing their heads into tube feeder portals, where the germs are rubbed onto the feeder, then onto the next feeding bird. Data from “citizen science” projects like the Great Backyard Bird Count indicate that the epidemic may be waning, but that’s anecdotal evidence and not hard fact. Feeders should be cleaned with every refill. Rinsing with a weak (90/10) bleach solution is supposed to disinfect the feeder sufficiently. The feeders should also be completely dry before refilling. There are also some reports of Blue Jays having the same affliction. For more information, visit the Website for the National Center for Infectious Diseases. They have a page de
