North Jersey Animal Control Officer Warns Of Mystery Bird Deaths

MILLBURN, NJ — A North Jersey animal control officer has warned residents that he's been seeing a mysterious illness in birds in the area, similar to what's been reported in Pennsylvania and other nearby states. READ MORE: Mystery Bird Disease Found In At Least 27 PA Counties

And the state of New Jersey last Tuesday corroborated his account, saying, "Some (but not all) of the affected birds are showing neurologic signs consisting of head tremors, leg paresis (partial paralysis or weakness), ataxia (falling to the side) or inability to stand at all, and excessive vocalizations."

In a post shared on the Washington Borough Green Team page (below) on July 2, and then subsequently shared on the "Happy Millburn" Facebook page and others, Washington Borough Animal Control Officer Robert Lagonera advised area residents to take down their bird feeders for now.

"IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT from ACO Robbie Lagonera," says the message, first posted on July 2 and shared 21 times. "Yesterday I picked up my first (live) bird showing symptoms of a new disease that is spreading within our local birds. Most commonly affected are blue jays, robins, common grackles and starlings. It mimics some of the symptoms of common head trauma i.e. inability to fly, head tilting and disorientation. However a clear sign that it is this new disease is crusted or gooey eyes."

The state's advisory, posted on July 6, explained, "A morbidity/mortality event has been occurring in nestling and fledgling songbirds in the mid-Atlantic, extending into the Southeast and eastern upper Midwest. Since mid-May, numerous young birds — mainly blue jays, starlings, and common grackles, but also robins and cardinals — have been found with eye and neurologic issues, and in some cases these birds have been found dead in large numbers."

Lagonera, who deals with 11 towns in Warren County and one in Morris, posted on Facebook on July 2 about becoming concerned after finding birds in his region with the mystery illness.

Logonera told Patch on Tuesday that he had just spoken with NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Nicole Lewis, who is investigating the illness. He noted, as have others, that scientists don't know what is causing the symptoms yet.

"I asked the public to keep an eye out for birds' eye symptoms," Lagonera said, stressing that crusted-over, closed eyes are a "telltale sign" of the illness.

Lagonera said that he sometimes gets calls about disoriented baby birds, but those birds may be learning to fly. The recent calls, he said, were different.

"I'm pretty concerned," he said,"because the responses generated are a lot more than I thought they would be."

He said he has only seen the sick birds in the westernmost towns he covers in New Jersey, and most have been blue jays.

He said that because pathologists haven't figured out the cause of the illness, people have theorized that it relates to something that's different about this year, such as the Brood X cicadas, but that so far, there has been no proof or link.

The Audobon Society reported late last week that researchers have ruled out a number of causes, but still don't have an answer.

What To Do In NJ

The state Division of Fish and Wildlife advises, "Dead birds should be handled with gloves, double-bagged and kept cool until picked up. In addition, any bird baths or feeders should be cleaned and removed if you find sick or dead birds on your property."

The state encouraged any resident who sees a bird with the symptoms to contact NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Nicole Lewis at Nicole.lewis@dep.nj.gov or call 877-WARN-DEP.

Lagonera said that residents of his towns can send a photo to him at communityanimalcontrol@gmail.com.

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