https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-17/king-parrots-dying-of-mysterious-disease/100620680

roughbarked said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-17/king-parrots-dying-of-mysterious-disease/100620680

I don’t. They forage for their own food in my garden and elsewhere.

I do have a bird bath. It’s cleaned regularly. Surprisingly (for a district that has no standing water), it’s not used a lot. Users: Little wattle birds, magpies, crows, peewees, crested pigeons, spotted doves, and occasionally small plain honeyeaters with a lovely song.

We don’t have King Parrots.

roughbarked said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-17/king-parrots-dying-of-mysterious-disease/100620680

roughbarked said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-17/king-parrots-dying-of-mysterious-disease/100620680

Spironucleosis_in_Australian_Wild_Birds.pdf

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

They are put up by people that don’t like cleaning bird shit off things.

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

You’re right. The 10,000 years of humans feeding birds bread will have killed all the stupid birds through natural selection.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-08-22/owls-dying-from-household-rat-poison-concerns-grow/100365178

https://www.birdsinbackyards.net/feed-or-not-feed-0

Witty Rejoinder said:

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

You’re right. The 10,000 years of humans feeding birds bread will have killed all the stupid birds through natural selection.

Fucking dinosaurs.

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

How did you reach this conclusion?

https://youtu.be/Y5llmJQWCts

The day before yesterday I went to the main lake in a small city, over a kilometre long and nearly as wide, with a forested island in the middle. And in 20 minutes counted zero bush birds. Zero, zip, zilch. Good sunny weather, no breeze to speak of, and no bush birds, not even a magpie. 20 minutes scanning with binoculars over nearly a square kilometre of area to see only 8 birds. I don’t mean bird species, I mean 8 individual birds, all waterbirds. That’s what happens when councils enforce “do not feed the birds” legislation. There’d be more birds after an atomic bomb went off.

Compare that with my yard. Front yard grass is twenty by ten metres. Back yard is concrete with only one tree. No pond. Mrs m feeds more than seventy birds each day in that yard. Including black ducks that fly in because local parks have “do not feed the ducks” signs up. Signs are up even those local parks that don’t have a fuckin’ lake because council has allowed it to dry up into grassy paddock.

Some people who are total arsehole bastards, using extremely rare bird diseases as a flimsy excuse, have been going around convincing councils all around Australia to enact anti-bird-feeding legislation in order to kill off everything.

mollwollfumble said:

The day before yesterday I went to the main lake in a small city, over a kilometre long and nearly as wide, with a forested island in the middle. And in 20 minutes counted zero bush birds. Zero, zip, zilch. Good sunny weather, no breeze to speak of, and no bush birds, not even a magpie. 20 minutes scanning with binoculars over nearly a square kilometre of area to see only 8 birds. I don’t mean bird species, I mean 8 individual birds, all waterbirds. That’s what happens when councils enforce “do not feed the birds” legislation. There’d be more birds after an atomic bomb went off.

Compare that with my yard. Front yard grass is twenty by ten metres. Back yard is concrete with only one tree. No pond. Mrs m feeds more than seventy birds each day in that yard. Including black ducks that fly in because local parks have “do not feed the ducks” signs up. Signs are up even those local parks that don’t have a fuckin’ lake because council has allowed it to dry up into grassy paddock.

Some people who are total arsehole bastards, using extremely rare bird diseases as a flimsy excuse, have been going around convincing councils all around Australia to enact anti-bird-feeding legislation in order to kill off everything.

Moll, what time of day was this? There are times when everyone has a nap in birdland.

mollwollfumble said:

The day before yesterday I went to the main lake in a small city, over a kilometre long and nearly as wide, with a forested island in the middle. And in 20 minutes counted zero bush birds. Zero, zip, zilch. Good sunny weather, no breeze to speak of, and no bush birds, not even a magpie. 20 minutes scanning with binoculars over nearly a square kilometre of area to see only 8 birds. I don’t mean bird species, I mean 8 individual birds, all waterbirds. That’s what happens when councils enforce “do not feed the birds” legislation. There’d be more birds after an atomic bomb went off.

Compare that with my yard. Front yard grass is twenty by ten metres. Back yard is concrete with only one tree. No pond. Mrs m feeds more than seventy birds each day in that yard. Including black ducks that fly in because local parks have “do not feed the ducks” signs up. Signs are up even those local parks that don’t have a fuckin’ lake because council has allowed it to dry up into grassy paddock.

Some people who are total arsehole bastards, using extremely rare bird diseases as a flimsy excuse, have been going around convincing councils all around Australia to enact anti-bird-feeding legislation in order to kill off everything.

Most birds don’t drink while they are having a nap.

Feeding birds is mainly a no no because, they won’t learn to feed themselves and when Mrs Mollwoll dies, the birds are not going to know where to find food.

roughbarked said:

mollwollfumble said:

The day before yesterday I went to the main lake in a small city, over a kilometre long and nearly as wide, with a forested island in the middle. And in 20 minutes counted zero bush birds. Zero, zip, zilch. Good sunny weather, no breeze to speak of, and no bush birds, not even a magpie. 20 minutes scanning with binoculars over nearly a square kilometre of area to see only 8 birds. I don’t mean bird species, I mean 8 individual birds, all waterbirds. That’s what happens when councils enforce “do not feed the birds” legislation. There’d be more birds after an atomic bomb went off.

Compare that with my yard. Front yard grass is twenty by ten metres. Back yard is concrete with only one tree. No pond. Mrs m feeds more than seventy birds each day in that yard. Including black ducks that fly in because local parks have “do not feed the ducks” signs up. Signs are up even those local parks that don’t have a fuckin’ lake because council has allowed it to dry up into grassy paddock.

Some people who are total arsehole bastards, using extremely rare bird diseases as a flimsy excuse, have been going around convincing councils all around Australia to enact anti-bird-feeding legislation in order to kill off everything.

Most birds don’t drink while they are having a nap.

Feeding birds is mainly a no no because, they won’t learn to feed themselves and when Mrs Mollwoll dies, the birds are not going to know where to find food.

It is true that people feeding wild birds can artificially inflate their populations but on the other hand reducing their natural habit where the local wildlife can’t survive is also a tragedy.

Perhaps this is where as a nation we learn to live collaboratively with the local wildlife populations. Perhaps the state forests more loudly spruik their local plant nursery programs. Each local government have programs that list the endangered local wildlife lists and what that neighbourhood could do.

My guess is people who feed wildlife care about keeping wildlife alive , so with re-direction they may be easily persuaded in other ways to help … like what plants are needed to be planted in local suburbs to provide natural food sources , should the council look at what plants they are planting along streets more critically and rethink the plant species that they currently use for plantings.

Let people know what the area used to be and what they can do to transform their backyard into a wildlife sanctuary for local birds species etc.

If it becomes common knowledge and something everybody understands it is more likely to gain momentum.

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

mollwollfumble said:

The day before yesterday I went to the main lake in a small city, over a kilometre long and nearly as wide, with a forested island in the middle. And in 20 minutes counted zero bush birds. Zero, zip, zilch. Good sunny weather, no breeze to speak of, and no bush birds, not even a magpie. 20 minutes scanning with binoculars over nearly a square kilometre of area to see only 8 birds. I don’t mean bird species, I mean 8 individual birds, all waterbirds. That’s what happens when councils enforce “do not feed the birds” legislation. There’d be more birds after an atomic bomb went off.

Compare that with my yard. Front yard grass is twenty by ten metres. Back yard is concrete with only one tree. No pond. Mrs m feeds more than seventy birds each day in that yard. Including black ducks that fly in because local parks have “do not feed the ducks” signs up. Signs are up even those local parks that don’t have a fuckin’ lake because council has allowed it to dry up into grassy paddock.

Some people who are total arsehole bastards, using extremely rare bird diseases as a flimsy excuse, have been going around convincing councils all around Australia to enact anti-bird-feeding legislation in order to kill off everything.

Most birds don’t drink while they are having a nap.

Feeding birds is mainly a no no because, they won’t learn to feed themselves and when Mrs Mollwoll dies, the birds are not going to know where to find food.

It is true that people feeding wild birds can artificially inflate their populations but on the other hand reducing their natural habit where the local wildlife can’t survive is also a tragedy.

Perhaps this is where as a nation we learn to live collaboratively with the local wildlife populations. Perhaps the state forests more loudly spruik their local plant nursery programs. Each local government have programs that list the endangered local wildlife lists and what that neighbourhood could do.

My guess is people who feed wildlife care about keeping wildlife alive , so with re-direction they may be easily persuaded in other ways to help … like what plants are needed to be planted in local suburbs to provide natural food sources , should the council look at what plants they are planting along streets more critically and rethink the plant species that they currently use for plantings.

Let people know what the area used to be and what they can do to transform their backyard into a wildlife sanctuary for local birds species etc.

If it becomes common knowledge and something everybody understands it is more likely to gain momentum.

Totally agree. However, what humans think the bird needs, is not always exactly what the bird needs. I fiind the best method is to plant food plants, shelter plants, trees.

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

Most birds don’t drink while they are having a nap.

Feeding birds is mainly a no no because, they won’t learn to feed themselves and when Mrs Mollwoll dies, the birds are not going to know where to find food.

It is true that people feeding wild birds can artificially inflate their populations but on the other hand reducing their natural habit where the local wildlife can’t survive is also a tragedy.

Perhaps this is where as a nation we learn to live collaboratively with the local wildlife populations. Perhaps the state forests more loudly spruik their local plant nursery programs. Each local government have programs that list the endangered local wildlife lists and what that neighbourhood could do.

My guess is people who feed wildlife care about keeping wildlife alive , so with re-direction they may be easily persuaded in other ways to help … like what plants are needed to be planted in local suburbs to provide natural food sources , should the council look at what plants they are planting along streets more critically and rethink the plant species that they currently use for plantings.

Let people know what the area used to be and what they can do to transform their backyard into a wildlife sanctuary for local birds species etc.

If it becomes common knowledge and something everybody understands it is more likely to gain momentum.

Totally agree. However, what humans think the bird needs, is not always exactly what the bird needs. I fiind the best method is to plant food plants, shelter plants, trees.

As much as people like mowing, lawns don’t atttract many species.

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

Most birds don’t drink while they are having a nap.

Feeding birds is mainly a no no because, they won’t learn to feed themselves and when Mrs Mollwoll dies, the birds are not going to know where to find food.

It is true that people feeding wild birds can artificially inflate their populations but on the other hand reducing their natural habit where the local wildlife can’t survive is also a tragedy.

Perhaps this is where as a nation we learn to live collaboratively with the local wildlife populations. Perhaps the state forests more loudly spruik their local plant nursery programs. Each local government have programs that list the endangered local wildlife lists and what that neighbourhood could do.

My guess is people who feed wildlife care about keeping wildlife alive , so with re-direction they may be easily persuaded in other ways to help … like what plants are needed to be planted in local suburbs to provide natural food sources , should the council look at what plants they are planting along streets more critically and rethink the plant species that they currently use for plantings.

Let people know what the area used to be and what they can do to transform their backyard into a wildlife sanctuary for local birds species etc.

If it becomes common knowledge and something everybody understands it is more likely to gain momentum.

Totally agree. However, what humans think the bird needs, is not always exactly what the bird needs. I fiind the best method is to plant food plants, shelter plants, trees.

Indeed, so the nation should make this something everybody understands. Schools can come on board by planting the trees needed in that suburb,

National Parks and Wildlife visiting schools to inform children what needs to happen in their area to bring back local wildlife and maybe a seed sharing program. Agricultural schools adding a program of how to balance agriculture with wildlife harmony.

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

It is true that people feeding wild birds can artificially inflate their populations but on the other hand reducing their natural habit where the local wildlife can’t survive is also a tragedy.

Perhaps this is where as a nation we learn to live collaboratively with the local wildlife populations. Perhaps the state forests more loudly spruik their local plant nursery programs. Each local government have programs that list the endangered local wildlife lists and what that neighbourhood could do.

My guess is people who feed wildlife care about keeping wildlife alive , so with re-direction they may be easily persuaded in other ways to help … like what plants are needed to be planted in local suburbs to provide natural food sources , should the council look at what plants they are planting along streets more critically and rethink the plant species that they currently use for plantings.

Let people know what the area used to be and what they can do to transform their backyard into a wildlife sanctuary for local birds species etc.

If it becomes common knowledge and something everybody understands it is more likely to gain momentum.

Totally agree. However, what humans think the bird needs, is not always exactly what the bird needs. I fiind the best method is to plant food plants, shelter plants, trees.

Indeed, so the nation should make this something everybody understands. Schools can come on board by planting the trees needed in that suburb,

National Parks and Wildlife visiting schools to inform children what needs to happen in their area to bring back local wildlife and maybe a seed sharing program. Agricultural schools adding a program of how to balance agriculture with wildlife harmony.

Water has always been the best bird feeder.
They all need water and are never far from it.

Turn on a sprinkler and it won’t be long before all the birds nearby are coming for a drink and a good old shower.

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

Totally agree. However, what humans think the bird needs, is not always exactly what the bird needs. I fiind the best method is to plant food plants, shelter plants, trees.

Indeed, so the nation should make this something everybody understands. Schools can come on board by planting the trees needed in that suburb,

National Parks and Wildlife visiting schools to inform children what needs to happen in their area to bring back local wildlife and maybe a seed sharing program. Agricultural schools adding a program of how to balance agriculture with wildlife harmony.

Water has always been the best bird feeder.
They all need water and are never far from it.

Turn on a sprinkler and it won’t be long before all the birds nearby are coming for a drink and a good old shower.

That doesn’t happen here.

Michael V said:

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

Indeed, so the nation should make this something everybody understands. Schools can come on board by planting the trees needed in that suburb,

National Parks and Wildlife visiting schools to inform children what needs to happen in their area to bring back local wildlife and maybe a seed sharing program. Agricultural schools adding a program of how to balance agriculture with wildlife harmony.

Water has always been the best bird feeder.
They all need water and are never far from it.

Turn on a sprinkler and it won’t be long before all the birds nearby are coming for a drink and a good old shower.

That doesn’t happen here.

:)

roughbarked said:

Michael V said:

roughbarked said:

Water has always been the best bird feeder.
They all need water and are never far from it.

Turn on a sprinkler and it won’t be long before all the birds nearby are coming for a drink and a good old shower.

That doesn’t happen here.

:)

No, seriously.

If I turn on the sprinkler, birds are not attracted.

It took a couple of years before we got visitors to the bird bath.

It intrigues me, because we don’t have standing water nearby, and no flowing creeks within 8 km. Yet we have lots and lots of birds.

sibeen said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

You’re right. The 10,000 years of humans feeding birds bread will have killed all the stupid birds through natural selection.

Fucking dinosaurs.

The Joy of T-Rex.

Michael V said:

roughbarked said:

Michael V said:

That doesn’t happen here.

:)

No, seriously.

If I turn on the sprinkler, birds are not attracted.

It took a couple of years before we got visitors to the bird bath.

It intrigues me, because we don’t have standing water nearby, and no flowing creeks within 8 km. Yet we have lots and lots of birds.

You get more rain than me. There is only water on leaves when it rains or there is a heavt dew, around here.

On hot dry days, you basically need to be standing next to a puddle to see birds at all.

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

If that is the case, then why were peregrine falcons dying in New York from poisoned wheat fed to pigeons?

roughbarked said:

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

If that is the case, then why were peregrine falcons dying in New York from poisoned wheat fed to pigeons?

and again, why do we often hear of birds dead suspected to have been poisoned?

roughbarked said:

roughbarked said:

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

If that is the case, then why were peregrine falcons dying in New York from poisoned wheat fed to pigeons?

and again, why do we often hear of birds dead suspected to have been poisoned?

Birds are like humans in that they may like to eat some processed foods that are not complete food option nutritionally speaking , for example, bread crumbs or just feeding kookaburras mince meat as that is not a complete nutritional meal that meets there dietary requirements , as gross as it sounds when they eat an entire critters like a mouse , snake or lizard they are also getter other vitamins and minerals aside from the protein , like calcium from cartilage and higher nutrients from the liver and kidneys of the animals they hunt , capture and eat.

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

roughbarked said:

If that is the case, then why were peregrine falcons dying in New York from poisoned wheat fed to pigeons?

and again, why do we often hear of birds dead suspected to have been poisoned?

Birds are like humans in that they may like to eat some processed foods that are not complete food option nutritionally speaking , for example, bread crumbs or just feeding kookaburras mince meat as that is not a complete nutritional meal that meets there dietary requirements , as gross as it sounds when they eat an entire critters like a mouse , snake or lizard they are also getter other vitamins and minerals aside from the protein , like calcium from cartilage and higher nutrients from the liver and kidneys of the animals they hunt , capture and eat.

Yep.
One suggestion for the drop in sparrow populations world wide, is that they are eating our processed foods.

The Rev Dodgson said:

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

How did you reach this conclusion?

Birds are so smart that they don’t know how to eat to survive¡

roughbarked said:

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

If that is the case, then why were peregrine falcons dying in New York from poisoned wheat fed to pigeons?

Falcons were encouraged to stick around to control the plague of pigeons
(same reason the pigeons are being poisoned in the first place)
unfortunately the falcons are merely collateral damage.

monkey skipper said:

Perhaps this is where as a nation we learn to live collaboratively with the local wildlife populations. Perhaps the state forests more loudly spruik their local plant nursery programs. Each local government have programs that list the endangered local wildlife lists and what that neighbourhood could do.

My guess is people who feed wildlife care about keeping wildlife alive , so with re-direction they may be easily persuaded in other ways to help … like what plants are needed to be planted in local suburbs to provide natural food sources , should the council look at what plants they are planting along streets more critically and rethink the plant species that they currently use for plantings.

Let people know what the area used to be and what they can do to transform their backyard into a wildlife sanctuary for local birds species etc.

If it becomes common knowledge and something everybody understands it is more likely to gain momentum.

When I attended a lecture given by a representative of the Audubon Society
it was followed by the inevitable Q&A Session by the attendant bird lovers
Someone asked; “What can we plant to draw birds to the area and feed them?”
…the reply still makes me giggle some 40 years later:

“String up a clothes line and the birds will naturally plant whatever they like.” :)

LMAO @ the look on the faces of the prissy ladies as the selected wording sank in. ;-> o-8=

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

lastly:
I learnt the hard way not to feed ANYTHING ANYMORE
as the unfortunate victim of a tick bourne disease
that’s since devastated every facet of my life.

you’re so focused on the poor birds
that you seem to have overlooked that they
unintentionally become the vectors of diseases
that spread to your family pets who carry it right into
your home & even sleep with you at the foot of your bed

Ogmog said:

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

lastly:
I learnt the hard way not to feed ANYTHING ANYMORE
as the unfortunate victim of a tick bourne disease
that’s since devastated every facet of my life.

you’re so focused on the poor birds
that you seem to have overlooked that they
unintentionally become the vectors of diseases
that spread to your family pets who carry it right into
your home & even sleep with you at the foot of your bed

Nasty, my sympathies.

>Birds can host a wide spectrum of pathogens. While in the air, sea or on the ground they can carry ticks on their skin and microbes in the intestines (campylobacter, salmonella) or blood (viruses, borrelia spirochetes and protozoa). The high body temperature favors the growth of Borrelia garinii (causing neuroborreliosis), Campylobacterjejuni and certain viruses. Viral infections carried by birds include West Nile-virus and Japanese encephalitis, Newcastle disease and flu. Less studied are infections of the birds themselves, like bird malaria. Infections can be prevented by avoiding contacts to feces, vector animals (ticks and mosquitoes) and by hygienic food processing.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25095476/

Bubblecar said:

Ogmog said:

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

lastly:
I learnt the hard way not to feed ANYTHING ANYMORE
as the unfortunate victim of a tick bourne disease
that’s since devastated every facet of my life.

you’re so focused on the poor birds
that you seem to have overlooked that they
unintentionally become the vectors of diseases
that spread to your family pets who carry it right into
your home & even sleep with you at the foot of your bed

Nasty, my sympathies.

>Birds can host a wide spectrum of pathogens. While in the air, sea or on the ground they can carry ticks on their skin and microbes in the intestines (campylobacter, salmonella) or blood (viruses, borrelia spirochetes and protozoa). The high body temperature favors the growth of Borrelia garinii (causing neuroborreliosis), Campylobacterjejuni and certain viruses. Viral infections carried by birds include West Nile-virus and Japanese encephalitis, Newcastle disease and flu. Less studied are infections of the birds themselves, like bird malaria. Infections can be prevented by avoiding contacts to feces, vector animals (ticks and mosquitoes) and by hygienic food processing.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25095476/

Indeed
Birds may be smart enough to know what to eat
but that doesn’t mean they are smart enough to not
eat food that’s infected with dangerous pathogens nor
is it their fault that they can foster & transport deadly bugs

I’d mentioned elsewhere a recent aqauintence that’s SLOWLY
coming back from West Nile Fever which is also known as Bird Flu

one morning i came to work & my county agent asked an odd question:
“Good Morning… How are you at holding chickens?” :) /: huh?
Turned out that we were housing a coop of chocks out back specifically kept
as Test Animals from which to draw blood to test for the presence of West Nile Virus

…as luck would have it, I live @ the opposite end of the very same swamp…
double whammy… same place where I got tagged by the tick…
“Oh Well (sang McWatt) What the Hell.” – Catch 22

Bubblecar said:

Ogmog said:

mollwollfumble said:

I hate people who say “don’t feed the birds.”

Birds aren’t stupid. They know what is safe toi eat and what is not safe to eat. Even better than humans do.

I think that signs “do not feed the birds” are put up by bastards who want to starve them into extinction.

lastly:
I learnt the hard way not to feed ANYTHING ANYMORE
as the unfortunate victim of a tick bourne disease
that’s since devastated every facet of my life.

you’re so focused on the poor birds
that you seem to have overlooked that they
unintentionally become the vectors of diseases
that spread to your family pets who carry it right into
your home & even sleep with you at the foot of your bed

Nasty, my sympathies.

>Birds can host a wide spectrum of pathogens. While in the air, sea or on the ground they can carry ticks on their skin and microbes in the intestines (campylobacter, salmonella) or blood (viruses, borrelia spirochetes and protozoa). The high body temperature favors the growth of Borrelia garinii (causing neuroborreliosis), Campylobacterjejuni and certain viruses. Viral infections carried by birds include West Nile-virus and Japanese encephalitis, Newcastle disease and flu. Less studied are infections of the birds themselves, like bird malaria. Infections can be prevented by avoiding contacts to feces, vector animals (ticks and mosquitoes) and by hygienic food processing.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25095476/

I have suffered from MAC or Mycobacterium Avium Complex. Generally known as atypical TB.
is a frontline killer of people with AIDs