Dead House Finches, Larimer Co.

[Mary France]

Hi,

Tom and Mary France live in SE Fort Collins and have just
discovered our 5th dead House Finch in our yard today - 3 males, 2
females, none appeared to be juveniles.
I wondered if this has occurred elsewhere and what might be causing it.
I did notice a couple acting ill - puffy feathers, not moving much.
We've never had this happen before. Could it be West Nile? Any ideas?

Thanks,

Tom and Mary France
Fort Collins, CO

[Nick Komar]

Hi Tom and Mary,

Indeed West Nile virus is present this summer, and still killing birds. There are other possible causes as well. Anyone with a dead bird in good condition can contact me offline to discuss having it tested for West Nile virus infection. If you are in or near a front range city between Denver and Fort Collins, there is a good chance that I can arrange to get the specimen from you.

Nick Komar
Fort Collins CO

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[Peter Burke]

Interesting,

I noticed what I suspected was a dazed HOFI from a window collision this evening. The bird was alive, and I was able to handle it and move it to a safe location in the yard, If I find a corpse tomorrow Nick, I'll contact you.

Peter Burke

Boulder, CO

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[Ann Molison]

Our neighborhood has been sprayed for mosquitoes and perhaps this is the cause.

Sent from my iPad

On Aug 29, 2013, at 8:29 PM, Mary France <mkf...@comcast.net> wrote:

[DAVID A LEATHERMAN]

Ms. Molison,
Pesticide use is a serious matter, whenever, wherever.  However, the material used for the recent mosquito spraying in FC (resmethrin), and the manner in which it was applied (fogging at night), make it very unlikely this is the cause of House Finch deaths observed by Mary France and perhaps others.  The suspicions about West Nile Virus, and perhaps other contagious diseases commonly associated with feeder operations, seem well founded.  Perhaps bird disease professional Nick Komar and tests performed on salvaged specimens can confirm some things, at least for the individuals tested.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

> CC: cob...@googlegroups.com
> From: amol...@comcast.net
> Subject: Re: [cobirds] Dead House Finches, Larimer Co.
> Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 20:36:03 -0600
> To: MKF...@comcast.net

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