Wisconsin Statewide Birding Report 3.12.09
New arrivals in the southern half of the state include lots of waterfowl, song sparrow, great blue heron, killdeer, blackbirds and American woodcock. Much of Wisconsin north of Highway 10 is still locked in winter. But waters opening up in southern Wisconsin are attracting large numbers of waterfowl including Canada geese, mallard and black ducks, common, red-breasted and hooded mergansers, common goldeneyes, and greater scaup along with occasional pairs of snow geese.
State wildlife health officials are reporting multiple bird-feeder-associated mortalities of redpolls and pine siskins in Waupaca, Sawyer, Langlade, Door, Wood and possibly other counties in the past week. They report that preliminary findings from necropsies on birds collected from Waupaca and Sawyer counties are highly compatible with salmonellosis, a bacterial infection that is a common cause of mortality of many wild bird species at bird feeders nationwide. Salmonellosis is caused by a variety of bacterial strains. Wildlife health specialists have submitted samples to the wildlife health laboratory for culture confirmation, and should have definitive results within a week. The bird species involved, the timing of these events, and the geographically widespread reporting are very typical for feeder-associated outbreaks here in Wisconsin. Though wildlife officials say there is generally not a significant impact on overall population of these species from late winter to early spring outbreaks of salmonellosis, people can help reduce mortality levels by cleaning up feeders and feeder areas and temporarily discontinuing feeding if they suspect an outbreak. More information on salmonellosis and bird feeder management can be found on the wildlife health pages of the DNR Web site at [http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/whealth/].
