Bird lovers killing their friends with kindness

Britain's bird lovers may be killing their feathered friends with kindness.

Thousands of Britain's most colourful bird species are falling victim to a parasitic disease that is spread by contact, especially at bird tables and feeders.

Householders with feeding equipment are being asked to disinfect it regularly in an attempt to control the disease, whose severity may have been accentuated by the warm wet summer - a hot July followed by a damp August.

Greenfinches, chaffinches, goldfinches and house sparrows are among the species being struck down by an ailment which has previously been confined to doves and pigeons and the birds of prey that feed on them, as well as domestic fowl.

It is not harmful to humans or domestic pets such as cats and dogs.

The disease is caused by the trichomonas parasite, which leads to infections at the back of the throat and gut.

Affected birds tend to be lethargic and have fluffed-up plumage, and may drool saliva, find it difficult to swallow and have laboured breathing. The disease may progress over several weeks.

The British Trust for Ornithology has been receiving reports of the outbreak from across the country: the first came from Wales, the Welsh borders and the West Country, but now the disease has spread to all regions. Finch species appear to be particularly vulnerable, with one report of 600 greenfinches found in Wales.

A total of 25 species have been affected so far this year, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which has reports from across England, Wales and Scotland.

More and more people have erected bird tables or placed feeders in their gardens in recent years, with some estimates putting the present worth of the birdfood market at nearly $560 million a year.

"It is certainly starting to look serious," said Paul Stancliffe of the ornithology trust.

"We are now encouraging people to take preventive measures. You should continue to feed the birds in your garden, because if they don't use yours, they will just use somebody else's.

"But you should properly clean your feeding equipment and wash down your bird table. There are proprietary products available, or you can do it with a weak solution of domestic disinfectant. You should also change the birds' water regularly."

The parasite was generally spread by beak-to-beak contact, Mr Stancliffe said, but, unusually, there was evidence that it could live for up to five days outside its host, so grain or water at the feeding stations might carry the disease.

It was hoped that with the onset of cold weather the disease would start to tail off, he said.

A royal society spokesman, Andre Farrar, also stressed the importance of cleaning bird tables and feeders.

"We wouldn't want the act of bringing birds together to be the cause of disease among them."

Mr Farrar said the royal society was monitoring the situation, but it had not yet reached "conservation levels" of concern.

- INDEPENDENT