Do other birds get this type of infection? I saw a Canada goose over the winter that had a red and irritated eye but when he turned, I could see that the other eye was fine. -----Original Message----- From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask] Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 11:27 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Finch eye infections Bruce, I live in Cleveland Heights, where there are plenty of House Finches. I've had several over the last 2-3 years with conjunctivitis but I've never seen the goldfinches infected. Last year there were several individuals, this year only one or two -- but only early in the season. Recent birds have all been healthy. I do report my observations to Cornell with my Feederwatch counts. The maps on the Cornell site track its movements and frequency. Wendy Donkin Bruce Lombardo wrote: > <pre wrap>Hi all, > > I put a posting on the OOS forum a while back about eye infections in > house, purple and gold finches, but haven't received any responses. > Have any of you noticed finches at your feeders with swollen eyes. The > disease is called "House Finch Conjuctivitis" and can render a finch > virtually blind. It is apparently quite contagious. It has been > documented in many house finches and goldfinches, and a few purple > finches. > > I first noticed it two weeks ago at my feeders. I saw a purple finch > that appeared to be blind in one eye. I live in a forest, so I have > never had house finches at my feeders. Then I saw two goldfinches the > next day who were so blind in both eyes that I could walk right up to > them at the feeders when I went to refill them. They seemed to be > operating mostly by hearing where the other finches were and flying > almost blindly in that direction to feed and roost. I feared > infectious conjunctivitis and removed the bird bath, as it seemed a > likely means of passing the infection. > > I then happened upon an article in Cornell U. Ornithology Dept.'s > newsletter Birdscope (Aug., 2007) about the disease. They are > conducting a feeder survey of the disease occurrence on their website: > www.birds.cornell.edu/hofi. They have some photos on the site of > infected individuals. > > Then during the deep snow last week, 3 house finches showed up for the > first time. But they were all healthy. > > I didn't see any blinded individuals for about a week, so I refilled > the bird bath again. > > Yesterday, I saw the first totally blind goldfinch and a half blind > purple finch again in about a week. > > I would suspect this disease would be far more common in urban areas > with lots of house finches, than here in the middle of a forest. > However, I have had over 100 goldfinches and over 50 purple finches at > my feeders all winter, so I am a bit worried. > > Have any of you seen infected finches at your feeders? > > Thanks, > > Bruce > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at > www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=IO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > </pre></body> > </html> > </html> ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]