Sick, dying songbirds found in 69 Indiana counties
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday said sick and dying songbirds have now been found in 69 of Indiana’s 92 counties.
The last update from Natural Resources on July 2 reported cases in 53 counties.
The following counties have had reports of sick and dying songbirds: Allen, Bartholomew, Benton, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Cass, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Dearborn, Decatur, DeKalb, Delaware, Dubois, Elkhart, Fayette, Floyd, Fulton, Gibson, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jasper, Jay, Jefferson, Johnson, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Lake, LaPorte, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Noble, Ohio, Orange, Owen, Parke, Porter, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Ripley, Rush, Shelby, St. Joseph, Starke, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Union, Vanderburgh, Vigo, Warrick, Washington, White and Whitley.
Species affected include the American robin, blue jay, brown-headed cowbird, common grackle, European starling, sparrow, house finch, northern cardinal, red-headed woodpecker and wren, according Natural Resources.
Natural Resources says all birds have tested negative for avian influenza, West Nile virus, and other flaviviruses, Salmonella and Chlamydia (bacterial pathogens), Newcastle disease virus and other paramyxoviruses, herpesviruses and poxviruses, and Trichomonas parasites.
They continue to recommend all Hoosiers remove their birdfeeders.