Dead birds and sick trees???

Question

Ok, so I have had 3 crows drop dead out of my trees in my front lawn, and I'm worried. They have each been reported, but the west nile testing have not been able to come out and do so...so I'm stuck. I just got off the phone with the West Nile Virus Hotline and again, they can't do anything. So my question is, who do I get a hold of to come check out my trees? It's obviously something going on in the trees because my lawn is the only one with a dead bird! How Scary! Any and all help would be MUCH appreciated.

Answer 1

It probably isn't your trees but it probably is West Nile.  I read that many places don't even test anymore because it turns out to be West Nile more than 90% of the time.  Probably it was a family of crows that spread the disease among themselves and that is why they are all falling in your yard.   They spread the disease among family members thru saliva and f***s.

Answer 2

West Nile Virus is just that - a virus. It is transmitted by mosquitoes, much like heartworm is transmitted to dogs.

Your trees would not be the source of the virus. HOWEVER, you might want to call an Arborist and have them take a look at your trees. There may be something going on that is killing the birds. Someone may have set poison to kill the birds, if your trees are harboring crows. Crows are scavengers, and they will carry dead carcasses to their young. Someone may have wanted to kill the crows. Which is not very smart. Yes, crows will raid songbird nests and eat the young. But they also eat carrion which, like vultures, keeps the landscape clean and disease free.

I can tell you, that since WNV came on the scene 6+ years ago, I was working as a Veterinary Technician. Back then, the reporting was new and ALL reports were checked and verified. Now, I'm sure there are so many reports that the agency cannot give reports to every person that turns in a dead bird. There is not enough manpower to take care of that. Reports should be in your newspaper, or you could go online to the state or county health dept. site. They, I believe, report the number of animals that have been verified with rabies, how many and what types of animals and also where they were found. They may also report on WNV.

And remember, every living thing dies. Not every bird death is from WNV.

Answer 3

How long has your husband been missing:) Sure doesn't sound good.............keep calling.....call 911 and get some help........they will probably pack you off..........that's strange.

all the best

Answer 4

I don't know where you are but in AZ residents report dead birds to the local health departments.  Pigeons and doves don't count.