Illinois-bring in your bird feeders...

[kadee79]

To help stop a bird disease.  And if you are in another state, might want to call your DNR to see if you need to do this too!

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – Bird feeders and baths, It’s a way for people at home, in parks, anywhere, to watch and appreciate birds of all kinds.

“The birds don’t need us to feed them. It’s convenient for them and they’d like it if we had stuff out for them, but the primary purpose of feeding birds is to bring them together so we can see them. It’s for us, not them,” Rob Kanter, a Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Earth, Society, & Environment, said.

Now, Illinois officials are asking you to stop. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is asking everyone to take down their bird feeders and bird baths and clean them all out.

That’s because the bird flu is spreading in state, and the Midwest.

“We’ve all been living with it for two years. We know that social distancing helps to slow the spread of infectious diseases, and what’s going on now is the birds have a flu going around. And if we cannot bring them to feeders, we may be able to help slow the spread of disease,” he said.

Kanter is a professor, but he also calls himself a “birder”. Meaning he loves to watch birds – and he even has a flock of chickens in his own backyard. He said he’s already taken steps to help keep his flock and wild birds safe.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/idnr-asking-people-to-bring-in-their-bird-feeders-and-bird-baths/ar-AAWuXsh?ocid=uxbndlbing&msclkid=59adf1e7c31911ecbb71b27361979401

[busymom]

We've got similar rules here, but unfortunately even in our Nextdoor group, there are people who just don't want to comply, with the excuse that "just removing my one feeder won't make a difference" with bird flu.  Reminds me of folks who won't comply with Covid restriction, that they're gonna do what they wanna do.  And, we have a LOT of turkey farmers in our state, so this isn't going to end well.  

[Opti]

Apr 23, 2022 11:07:00 GMT -5 busymom said:

We've got similar rules here, but unfortunately even in our Nextdoor group, there are people who just don't want to comply, with the excuse that "just removing my one feeder won't make a difference" with bird flu.  Reminds me of folks who won't comply with Covid restriction, that they're gonna do what they wanna do.  And, we have a LOT of turkey farmers in our state, so this isn't going to end well.  

That's sad. Doesn't seem like it would be that hard to not fill a bird feeder for a season or two.

[billisonboard]

Did some research:

“If you have bird feeders close to poultry, domestic poultry like chickens and ducks, then you might want to take them down,” she said. “But if you’re just feeding in the backyard, there’s absolutely no reason to take those down.” Illinois recommends residents halt use of bird feeders, baths

Another: Avian Influenza Outbreak: Should You Take Down Your Bird Feeders?

Seems like the issue has some nuance.

[Artemis Windsong]

In our HOA, feeding the birds is prohibited but some people do it anyway and get asked to stop. The ponds have way too many ducks and geese.


The tennis courts were getting covered with bird droppings. The security cameras managed to identify a woman who was scattering corn into the rock landscaping surrounding the courts. She moved on to one of the streets. All a resident can do is report the sighting of scattered corn to patrol.

[wvugurl26]

The bird flu is quite sad. We went to Hersheypark last weekend. We usually go to the attached zoo. They had moved their birds inside to protect against the flu.