Such Sad News

West Nile Virus info

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2007-05-16-dying-birds-west-nile_N.htm

Sorry, this story did not mention the other birds being hit hard by WNV
Besides Crows and Blue Jays; Chickadees, House Wrens, Bluebirds,Tufted Titmice and Robins have been hit hard in certain states. Titmice in Illinois are only 1/3 of what they were expected to be and the other 3 starting with Chickadees are 68%,52% and 32% below expectations in Maryland. I'm sure there are similiar numbers in other states but the article just states these. These #'s are from an article by an AP Science Editor.

This message was edited May 16, 2007 5:18 PM

As suggested by the last paragraph, I'd guess the declines will only be fairly temporary; a decline in crows (which are egg predators, and previously at un-naturally high populations from scavenging human waste food) may even be of direct benefit to many birds.

In Britain, although WNV had never been recorded in any bird, a majority of British birds were recently discovered to have antibodies to the virus, showing they had in fact been exposed to the virus. This proves that they are very resistant to it, and suggests that bird populations adapt to coping with the virus fairly easily. Given a few generations, I'm sure American birds will develop similar levels of resistance.

Resin

I also went to the CDC site and was amazed at the number of human deaths from WNV. Texas was the largest number I believe.

Yes, the West Nile Virus has hit our birds bad, in the past few years. We used to have trees and trees full of crows and I've only seen 2 crows over the past three years or so. I've also noticed a major decline in the black-capped chickadees. I hope you're right, Resin, that the next generations will be resistant to it. It's scary that it affects humans, too. My mom is always worried she's going to get it, being in the garden all day long.

~Kristy

IrisLover, I think your crows just all moved out here to the Pacific Northwest. We have gazillions of them - and they are just about the worst feeder invaders around. And they are often busy chasing the eagles if the eagles light somewhere they don't want them.

I know there have been some reports of the virus out this way, but it probably hasn't hit us fully as yet.

I'm not surprised that they chase eagles, lol. They seem to dare cars to hit them. I miss the crows. They were my favorite bird.

~Kris

DW and I had a 3 month bout with WN. When you are old, it's no fun. Almost all our Jays are gone. Fewer crows. More Titmouse than normal. Also Redwings.

What are the main symptoms in people?

Different for different people. I had low grade fever, headaches, extreme weakness, lots of respiratory problems, balance problems, and so on. I was too far out of it to remember most of it, just hanging in. Our Dr. neighbor diagnosed the illness, and he advised us to stay out of hospitals as long as we could care for ourselves. Lowered immune systems.

I am very glad it is gone.

Wow, Trois - that's scary stuff . . . btw, what do you consider old? I've seen your pic (from the recent roundup) and you do NOT look old!! Glad you and DW are better.

Thanks, but I am. 75, DW 81. We are pretty well back to normal now. Just stiff joints and so forth.

Well, that just blows my mind - I truly thought you were around 60 . . . so either a good picture, or you are mighty young looking for your age! Again, I'm so glad you and your DW are okay now! Stay healthy and keep sharing pictures! (Please.)

At least we now have immunity from the West Nile. I wish we had more than the one lonely, nervous Jay. He seems to be lost without other Jays for company.

I'm guessing it maybe skipped over my area. (We don;t have much of a mosquito problem either.) As long as I keep the feeders filled, I have from 30-50 birds at feeding time, several times a day, and a large variety of birds.

Last summer we had a very bad skeeter problem, as our new neighbors built and installed several Martin houses. They ate all of our Dragonflies, giving great protection to the skeeters.

Trois, I don't know why the myth persists that purple martins eat mosquitos!

Money, I think. Lots of people sell the houses. Customers ask for them. I have seen signs advertising them for mosquito control. They sure do like to eat Dragonflies though. A couple of years ago I was sitting on my pier at my pond, watching the hundreds of Dragonflies laying eggs in the pond. Suddenly a flock of 15 or so Martins flew in, and in 10 minutes all the Dragonflies were gone. Than the Martins left, and what had been a skeeter free day turned ugly. I was quickly covered with skeeters, which had been hiding while the Dragonflies were out and about. The Dragonfly population returned to normal in a couple of weeks. Now, with a permanent next door colony, I never see any Dragonflies.