Bird Feeders Once Again Safe To Use In Rhode Island: DEM

NEWPORT, RI — It's once again safe to put out bird feeders in Rhode Island, as fears of an unknown, deadly avian illness decrease across the state.

In July, the Department of Environmental Management called for residents to remove bird baths and feeders due to concerns about the mysterious illness that affected birds across 15 states. While experts have not been able to identify the illness, no human health or domestic animal issues have been detected, alongside a drop in reports of dead songbirds in the state.

"DEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife thanks the public for their concern and taking the precautions necessary to protect our native birds," said John Herbert, a biologist with the DEM. "As Rhode Islanders begin to put their bird feeders and baths back in place, now is the perfect opportunity to start a regular cleaning routine to lessen the chance of diseases spreading in places where birds congregate. Small actions can add up in a big way to keep birds safe."

While it's safe to put bird feeders back up, residents of areas where bears are active are asked to avoid feeding birds or any wildlife.

Bird feeders and baths should be cleaned once every 10 days with a 10 percent bleach solution to help prevent the spread of other illnesses between birds. Take down feeders immediately if you see any signs of sick birds, and report sightings of sick or dead birds with crusty eyes or neurological symptoms using the department's online form.

The DEM provided these tips for best practices when it comes to support wild birds in your backyard.

• Provide natural food: When feeding wild birds in Rhode Island, the best option is always to plant native perennial plants. Native plants produce berries and seeds that wild birds are accustomed to eating. Native plants also support robust insect populations. Insects are the most critical food source for baby birds during the breeding season. Not sure which plants are native to Rhode Island or where to buy them for your garden? Check out the URI Master Gardeners Native Plant Guide, which will help you narrow down plant species appropriate for your garden conditions and find a local plant nursery that carries native plants.
• Provide shelter: Many birds nest in natural tree cavities. If you don’t have trees in your yard, consider putting up some nesting boxes to welcome breeding birds to the area. For instructions on how to build nesting boxes for various species, check out the templates available on The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birdhouses website.
• Keep cats indoors: Free-ranging cats, both domestic and feral, are responsible for killing hundreds of millions of songbirds in the United States every year. Keeping pet cats indoors or supervised outdoors will help protect birds from unnecessary predation from cats.
• Do not feed birds bread or other food scraps: Bread and other processed snacks like crackers, cereal, muffins, etc., are notoriously bad for birds. These foods can cause severe compaction of the digestive system, growth deformities, and in some cases, death.
• Minimize your own use of pesticides and fertilizers: Targeting a single “pest” species to eradicate often has unintended and undesirable consequences. Pesticides reduce food availability for birds by reducing insect diversity. Integrated pest management is one alternative that relies on the science of pests, their life cycles, and their broader relationship to the environment to yield more ecologically sensitive results than pesticide use. Organic methods like composting and leaf mulching also can give positive results without any risk or cost.