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Subject: [WNV-L] Explanation for Robin Die-Off? (4)
Date:
July 11, 2003
Posted by:
Bryan Glascock (Bryan.Glascock@ci.boston.ma.us)
Chris Cooper (CKCooper@co.lewis.wa.us)
Barbara Ray (brayowc@earthlink.net)
Robyn Graboski (robyn@statecollege.com)
Michael Gochfeld (gochfeld@eohsi.rutgers.edu)
Dominick Ninivaggi (Dominick.Ninivaggi@co.suffolk.ny.us)
Responses [1] - [7] are compiled into this posting: [1] Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 From: "Glascock, Bryan" <Bryan.Glascock@ci.boston.ma.us> Subject: RE: [WNV-L] Explanation for Robin Die-Off? (3) Years ago, our office would occasionally receive anecdotal evidence of bird die-offs supposedly related to golf course maintenance. The pesticide application would apparently drive insects making them easy targets for birds who would eat the dead and dying bugs and then presumably succumb to the pesticides. I don't recall any recent occurrences, (hopefully our golf courses are using less bird-toxic chemicals and treating less frequently). I'd look into nearby golf courses and large "corporate" lawns that look a little too green and weed-free. Bryan Glascock, Executive Director Air Pollution Control Commission Environment Department, Room 805 City Hall Boston, Massachusetts 02201 Ph: 617-635-4416 Fax 617-635-3435 -------------------------------------- [2] Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 From: "Chris Cooper" <CKCooper@co.lewis.wa.us> Response to: [WNV-L] Explanation for Robin Die-Off? (2) We experience a very high rate of tweety bird (songbird) dieoffs that were reported due the public sensitivity to dead bird reporting recently, (great job of getting the word out!?) We were able to track the source of the problem back to a bad batch (allegedly, no test data returned yet to confirm) of bird seed purchased by a local feed distributor. The seed had presumably been contaminated by a pesticide during storage or transport, and was voluntarily recalled, and the calls stopped, (except corvids) No WNV positives yet, in this area, so it is hypothesized many of our corvids reported for that time period (about 3 weeks in duration) had been feeding on the dead songbirds, and may have had the same fate as the deceased. Chris K. Cooper, RS Lewis County Environmental Health 360 NW North Street MS: HSD01 Chehalis, WA 98532-1900 ---------------------- Comments on Dominick Ninivaggi's note in "[WNV-L] Explanation for Robin Die-Off? (3)" >Unless the dead birds have been analysed for pesticide residues >there's no way of knowing if pesticides are involved. I think if >you went into any suburban neighborhood, whether there were dead >robins or not, you would find a "history of spraying", so any >"correlation" is meaningless. Given the way some people use lawn >pesticides, I would not be surprised if pesticides turned out to be >the cause, but let's use good logical thinking here, rather than >simply blaming the "usual suspect". [3] Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 From: Barbara Ray <brayowc@earthlink.net> Agreed! We always make note of 'suspect' cause, but until we run our lab tests, we can make no assumptions. Often animals have actually become ill or died from something else! For our WNV-like, clinically symptomatic birds (and poisoning suspect birds) who test negative for WNV, we also run pesticide and heavy metal tests. A thorough physical exam also will often reveal typical or atypical parasites that can be the primary catalyst for whatever other problem the bird presented for. Barbara Ray Conservation Education Director Ohio Wildlife Center 614-793-WILD brayowc@earthlink.net [4] Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2003 From: Robyn Graboski <robyn@statecollege.com> > Unless the dead birds have been analysed for pesticide residues >there's no way of knowing if pesticides are involved. You are correct. The only way to "verify" is to analyze the birds. However, even that can be problematic. I have had birds come in that smelled like chemicals, subsequently died, and then came back negative for pesticide poisoning. The lab people tell me that there is no way to test for all of the possible toxins. > Given the way some people use lawn pesticides, I would not be >surprised if pesticides turned out to be the cause, but let's use >good logical thinking here, rather than simply blaming the "usual >suspect". I am presenting an alternate theory and possibility. When I get birds that present with ataxia/tremors, smell like chemicals and there was spraying in the area, it is very hard to ignore the possibility of posoining. I have seen this type of thing for the past 15 years...long before WNV was here. Robyn Graboski, Licensed wildlife rehabilitator Centre Wildlife Care PO Box 572, Lemont, PA 16851 (814) 237-6548 http://www.wildaboutanimals.net robyn@statecollege.com [5] Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 From: Michael Gochfeld <gochfeld@eohsi.rutgers.edu> The commonest reason for finding dead birds in a yard is mortality due to flying into windows. There are many other ways for suburban birds to die, but their bodies aren't often discovered. Oddly enough, although we have had quite a few species succumb to windows, none of them were robins. Sometimes it's possible to identify this cause by where the birds are found. It is remarkably uncommon (considering how many birds and bird watchers there are) to find the bodies of birds that have died of illness or starvation. Those birds tend to hide and die quietly out of view. Anyone who has tended sick birds will appreciate that they tend to ball up and crouch in a corner of the container, usually away from light. Mike Gochfeld [6] Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 From: "Ashley Hotz" <ahotz@mindspring.com> Dominick Ninvaggi said "unless the dead birds have been analyzed for pesticide residues, there's no way of knowing if pesticides are involved." The trouble is that analysis for pesticides is rarely done, and Mr.Ninivaggi knows this. State and county budgets do not permit such tests to be performed. Mr. Ninvaggi may know that in his own state of New York, that Dr. Ward Stone tested up to 250 dead birds a day and found that during the fiscal year ending March 31 2001, that 1,263 birds were identified as carrying WNV, and during that same period, 1,953 birds were found to have died from toxic pesticides. See an article on this topic from THE RECORD, from Troy, New York. Ashley Hotz This is an article from THE RECORD - TROY, NY., dated June 3, 2001 and entitled: TOXINS KILLING BIRDS by Michael Gormley -- Associated Press. DELMAR -- In the fever to test for the West Nile Virus, post-mortems on up to 250 birds a day have uncovered a surprise: More birds are dying of pesticides, herbicides and lead. "There are all kinds of side benefits to the West Nile look," said state wildlife pathologist Ward Stone. "West Nile isn't going to be growing in numbers, but these other numbers will continue to grow." In the state fiscal year ended March 31, the basement laboratory in the Five Rivers Environmental Center outside Albany identified 1,263 birds carrying West Nile Virus. During the same time, 1,953 birds were identified as dying of toxins from pesticides like Dursban, a chemical banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and Diazinon, which the EPA ordered taken off the market in two years. Stone said some are cases in which chemicals were overused on lawns and in buildings, some are intentional poisonings, but many are the result of birds eating smaller prey with high levels of the material. "I was rocked," said Audubon New York's William Cooke of Stone's findings. "I had no idea. I don't think anyone did." Audubon New York, with 52,000 members, plans radio public service announcements and a public education program this summer as a result of the data. Cooke urges people to continue to report all dead birds through a toll-free state number (866-537-2473) to keep tracking West Nile incidents as well as deaths from toxins. "If they're whacking birds, I think it's reasonable to assume they're doing a job on butterflies and others," Cooke said. "What is it doing to our kids?" Allen James, president of the national chemical association Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment, said his group is "sad to hear some applications are improperly used." "There are certain pesticide products if improperly used could cause the death of a bird," he said. But James added that the producers of chemicals targeting pests, weeds and rodents use labels with instructions on the safe application of safe doses. In addition, the industry in recent years has developed products of certain color, size and texture that make them unattractive to birds. Indoors, products are being made that can be applied away from people and animals without becoming airborne. James also warned that science can detect small amounts of chemicals now, and that detection doesn't necessarily mean the product was lethal. "The technology of pesticides is improving dramatically," he said. "And there are extreme limits to how these products are used now." In New York, the rising trend in toxic deaths is taking ecologically important species like crows, pigeons and vultures, as well as protected and popular birds such as starlings, great horned owls, red-tailed hawks and loons, as well as the bald eagle that recently made Stone's metal table. It was found near death in the Dutchess County town of Pine Plains at a hunt club. The large adult male vomited everything rehabilitators fed it. The eagle, part of an extraordinary Hudson Valley comeback of the nation's symbol, died extremely dehydrated with feces and bile staining its plumage. The liver had 31 parts per million of lead, more than four times the lethal level, according to the May 30 report. The report was one of 10 final determinations made at the lab in three days of death by toxins. They included a great horned owl found in the Ulster County town of Bearsville with high levels of chemicals used to kill rodents. West Nile testing also led to the May 7 determination that a blue jay found dead on a North Hempstead lawn on Long Island died from poisoning by Chlordane. That pesticide used against termites and lawn insects was also blamed for the death of a Cooper's hawk in Syracuse in August. West Nile testing also identified a new form of botulism that killed hundreds of birds from Lake Erie. "It's more than ever, and it's increasing," Stone said. "The problem is statewide." [7] Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 From: "Ninivaggi, Dominick" <Dominick.Ninivaggi@co.suffolk.ny.us> Response to Michael Gotchfi [WNV-L] Explanation for Robin Die-Off? (3) Rachel Carson also predicted a cancer epidemic in the US.