BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Birding Just wondering.....

We feed the bird all summer and we always have a yard full of birds. However, the thought occurred to me that if by using feeders and congregating large groups of birds of different species together in an area known to have been tested positive for West Nile Virus am I not endangering the birds by bringing them together in a city known to have infected mosquitoes???
I would like to hear your thoughts on this.

First of all, welcome, Pam! Glad you found this board!

As for your question, I honestly don't know. I live in Toronto where West Nile has hit and we are very aware of this problem here. The numbers of crows and blue jays, as far as I know, has also gone down. I will do some homework locally and see if I can come up with a reliable answer to your concern. I hadn't thought of that but you pose a very good question.

Meantime, let's see if anyone else has any ideas on this.


Shelley

I wrote to two different people in the Audubon Society and got answers today. They seem to feel that it doesn't matter. The most important thing is to keep yard mosquito free as possible emptying out all standing water, of course.

I have a small birdbath on my front lawn and I empty and refill it every morning. I take it in and wash it really well around once a week. These last few days, of extreme heat, I have been refilling it twice a day since they are either messing it up so completely or the water evaporates more quickly. I've been told that as long as the water is not *standing* and stagnant, a birdbath is fine. I initially worried about not being able to provide a water source for the birds when concerns about West Nile started making headlines but so far, so good.

Shelley

Birds are going to be where they're going to be, your seed is but one of their many food sources. So your putting out seed is really just to have the birds somewhere *you* can see them, it doesn't make or break their food cycle.

If you're going to help birds and keep down west nile, definitely do everything you can in your neighborhood to eliminate standing water. Be very vigilant in your own yard and mention it to your neighbors if you see them with stagnant water around. The birds are going to be there no matter what you do, so your only way to "help" is to reduce mosquito breeding grounds.