{"id":43903,"date":"2016-11-30T05:35:19","date_gmt":"2016-11-30T12:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=43903"},"modified":"2016-11-30T06:31:54","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T13:31:54","slug":"avian-pox-a-significant-but-preventable-risk-for-birds-at-feeders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/30\/avian-pox-a-significant-but-preventable-risk-for-birds-at-feeders\/","title":{"rendered":"Avian Pox &#8211; A Significant But Preventable Risk For Birds At Feeders"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><em>Because we love them many of us feed birds\u00a0at backyard feeders this time of year to help them get through the harsh winter. So I thought this was a good time\u00a0to recycle an old post from February of 2012 as a timely reminder to keep our feeders clean. These images\u00a0reek of amateurism (poor composition and processing) because they were taken\u00a0way back when I barely knew which end of my lens to point at\u00a0a bird but I still think they graphically\u00a0illustrate\u00a0one of the problems we inadvertently cause for the birds we&#8217;re trying to nurture.\u00a0I&#8217;ve revised some of the text and formatting.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Several years ago when I was new to bird photography I would often practice photographing\u00a0birds that would come to my back yard feeder in order to improve my skills. Later that\u00a0year I began to notice birds with deformities, especially\u00a0on or near their bills, eyes, legs and feet. At first I thought they were some kind of tumors but on the morning I took these shots I saw three birds\u00a0(two\u00a0House Finches and one Mourning Dove)\u00a0that were affected so I became alarmed and took the photos to the Vertebrate Disease Specialist at Division of Wildlife Resources here in Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n<p>The diagnosis was <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Avipoxvirus\" target=\"_blank\">avian pox <\/a>(avipoxvirus).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"43904\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/30\/avian-pox-a-significant-but-preventable-risk-for-birds-at-feeders\/mourning-dove-7484-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7484-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"720,486\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"mourning-dove-7484-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7484-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43904\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7484-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"mourning-dove-7484-ron-dudley\" width=\"720\" height=\"486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7484-ron-dudley.jpg 720w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7484-ron-dudley-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7484-ron-dudley-150x101.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7484-ron-dudley-400x270.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Avian pox is a serious disease of many species of birds caused by several strains of avipoxvirus.\u00a0The most common form, cutaneous pox, causes wart-like growths around eyes, beak, legs or any unfeathered\u00a0skin.\u00a0Those warts may interfere with feeding, sight, breathing or\u00a0perching.\u00a0Affected birds often become emaciated due to the inability to feed. Avian pox causes significant mortality in infected birds but they\u00a0can recover as long as they&#8217;re able to feed. There is no evidence that avipoxvirus affects humans.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"43907\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/30\/avian-pox-a-significant-but-preventable-risk-for-birds-at-feeders\/mourning-dove-7502-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7502-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"mourning-dove-7502-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7502-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43907\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7502-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"mourning-dove-7502-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7502-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7502-ron-dudley-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7502-ron-dudley-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7502-ron-dudley-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7502-ron-dudley-400x267.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Birds become infected with the virus through direct physical contact with infected birds, ingestion of food or water contaminated by other infected birds or through contact with contaminated surfaces &#8211; <strong>especially at bird feeders and nearby perches<\/strong>. The virus enters through skin surfaces that have become abraded (which is why only unfeathered skin gets the lesions). Mosquitoes also act as vectors of\u00a0the virus.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"43905\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/30\/avian-pox-a-significant-but-preventable-risk-for-birds-at-feeders\/house-finch-7494-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7494-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"house-finch-7494-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7494-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43905\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7494-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"house-finch-7494-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7494-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7494-ron-dudley-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7494-ron-dudley-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7494-ron-dudley-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7494-ron-dudley-400x267.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The avian pox on this finch&#8217;s foot comes from warts on only a single toe.\u00a0The bird&#8217;s behavior didn&#8217;t seem to be affected by the warts and it foraged normally. You can see that it chose to rest standing on the infected foot with the other one drawn up to its belly.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"43906\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/30\/avian-pox-a-significant-but-preventable-risk-for-birds-at-feeders\/house-finch-7587-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7587-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"house-finch-7587-ron-dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7587-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43906\" src=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7587-ron-dudley.jpg\" alt=\"house-finch-7587-ron-dudley\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7587-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7587-ron-dudley-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7587-ron-dudley-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7587-ron-dudley-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/house-finch-7587-ron-dudley-400x267.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The warts on the eye of this finch\u00a0completely blinded it on that side but it was simply amazing how well it compensated for the affliction. It flew and even landed normally but it was obvious that it was blind on the right side because I could walk right up to it until it turned its head and noticed me. The bird also has an infected right foot.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I\u00a0photographed all three of these birds within a 15 minute span so I knew there was a serious problem in my neighborhood and after my visit to the Vertebrate Disease Specialist and some further research I realized that bird feeders in my neighborhood (there were many of them, including mine)\u00a0likely contributed to this disease outbreak.\u00a0In order to prevent the spread of this disease experts recommend keeping feeders clean and regularly washed with a 10% bleach solution.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">It&#8217;s my gut feeling that backyard feeders have a more positive effect\u00a0on bird populations\u00a0(by far) than any negative consequences\u00a0caused by the occasional spread of disease that may be enabled by close contact with lots of birds at feeders.\u00a0That said,\u00a0preparing this post has reminded me once again just how very\u00a0important it is to keep\u00a0our feeders clean.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Ron<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>Note: As of 6:23 AM Mountain Time WordPress still hasn&#8217;t sent out the email with the link to this post to subscribers (I posted over an hour ago). Sometimes this happens and I don&#8217;t know why&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Because we love them many of us feed birds at backyard feeders this time of year to help them get through the harsh winter.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/30\/avian-pox-a-significant-but-preventable-risk-for-birds-at-feeders\/\"><span>Continue reading<\/span><i class=\"crycon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[334,8,392,1608,349],"tags":[650,654,3205,3204,655,656,653],"class_list":["post-43903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-birds","category-ecology-and-environment","category-feeding-bird-behaviors","category-mourning-doves","category-sparrows-and-finches","tag-avian-pox","tag-avipoxvirus","tag-cleaning-solution","tag-feeders","tag-house-finch","tag-mourning-dove","tag-warts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/mourning-dove-7484-ron-dudley.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1zzJh-bq7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}