Fat Finch

Dear friends come for coffee and flapjack this morning. 

They are ornithological experts.

I ask them about the big round chaffinch that visits my bird table. I think there maybe something wrong with her.  There is. She has  horrible disease called fat finch syndrome - 

 Trichomonosis - caused by a parasitic infection. Which means they - all types of finches -  can't swallow food or drink, become slow and sleepy and eventually starve to death. It's like the myxomatosis of the bird world. The main carriers  may be wood pigeons.

And the worst thing is that they may get it from feeding at bird tables like mine. Lots of different bird species in one place...cross contamination.. pigeon faeces. Doesn't bear thinking about.

Even if you keep the whole area clean - which I try and do - and disinfect the table and hanging feeders and bird baths, they can still pick it up.

Here is my poor little finch with the starling. In yesterday's blog I called her chubby and bold when actually she is very sick and can hardly fly. 

This is what she should look like.

A male chaffinch  who came to the bird table last November...I thought he looked sluggish but didn't realise why. And I know so little about the wild birds anyway.

This is what he should look like.

Because I've been feeling miserable and lethargic today after my surgery yesterday,

and I want to keep my leg raised, I stayed a long time on the sofa, trawling internet websites,

researching the best bird feeders and how keep the birds healthy if possible.

I've decided I need to change the bird table. It was here when I came and I just took it over without really thinking about it but actually it's really old and wobbly and manky and hard to  keep clean.

And there are better ways to feed the birds... and to separate the big ones from the little ones with different kinds of hanging feeders... and  ways to stop the squirrels hoovering up all the sunflower seeds in a few minutes.

And I would hate to be contributing to the slow and painful death of another little chaffinch.

And at least Edward  is still here...coming in to land.