Bird Flu In Illinois: Residents May Resume Use Of Bird Feeders, Baths

ILLINOIS — More than a month after advising Illinois residents to stop using backyard bird feeders to help limit the spread of the Avian flu, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced that it is now safe to resume putting out food for winged visitors.

State officials made the plea to residents to not put out food in feeders in mid-April and asked that they avoid using the feeders through the end of May. The request came after Illinois began to see cases of the bird flu start to pop up around the state.

Illinois DNR officials announced Tuesday that while the bird flu was never detected in songbirds, other birds — including Canada geese and other waterfowl — were testing positive for the illness. But with the annual spring migration of non-resident waterfowl and other migratory bird species complete, state officials said Tuesday that the risk of further disease outbreaks among wild bird populations has been minimized.

“The IDNR would like to thank the public for their assistance and cooperation in potentially reducing the spread of HPAI during this critical time,” Chris Jacques, the agency’s wildlife disease program manager, said in a statement released by the agency on Tuesday.

While the agency has OK’d the use of bird feeders, residents are reminded of the importance of keeping them clean along with birdbaths. Because the Avian flu may still occur in resident waterfowl, however, Illinoisans should avoid feeding ducks and geese.

Even under normal conditions, state officials said that feeding waterfowl can lead to nuisance problems and, consequently, increase rates of disease transmission in wild bird populations.

The first cases of the bird flu were detected in Canada geese in March. In one case, a nature preserve area near Barrington found more than 200 dead birds and experts announced that the birds had died because of the Avian flu.

Since March, experts with the Department of Natural Resources have documented bird flu-related deaths in wild eagles, double-crested cormorants, snow geese, American white pelicans, red-tailed hawks, mallard ducks, redhead duck, lesser scaup, Canada geese, Ross’s geese and turkey vultures in Champaign, Cook, Fulton, Lake, Madison, Peoria, Sangamon, and Will counties.