MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ohio — A mysterious illness is killing off birds. It’s been keeping wildlife rescues busy trying to save them and figure out why it keeps happening.
In a matter of minutes, Erica Miller of Wildlife Rehab got another bird. She said it’s been like that way for the past six weeks: Bird after bird brought in to the wildlife rescue she runs in Miamisburg, all with the same illness.
“They’re very neurological acting, flipping over on their back, unable to fly, unable to stand,” said Miller.
She’s been trying different medications on the baby birds, but she said with some of the older birds coming in, they just get worse.
“The adults when they come in with the crusted eyes and they are very emaciated, I euthanize every single one of them because it’s to the point where suffering is worse than dying, and it’s really not fair for them to suffer like that,” said Miller.
The disease is killing birds across Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. It’s the same disease that not even state wildlife officials know what it is nor what’s causing it.
“We’re kind of just like mad scientists making up our own little cases studies,” said Miller.
It’s the reason Miller has been doing her own investigation.
“A lot of our birds — starlings, grackles, blue jays — were being affected first and now it’s starting to go to the sparrows, and I’ve seen one cardinal,” said Miller.
She said she’s ruled out other theories about birds eating dead cicadas with pesticides on them.
“I think if it was a pesticide, we would be seeing it in all birds and we’re not. It’s a very specific species of birds,” said Miller.
Whatever it is, she said the illness is killing many of the birds within 24 hours, but she said she’s going to keep doing her best to try and save them.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is saying to clean out your bird feeders because they don’t know where the illness is coming from.
If you see a bird that’s already hurt, wildlife rescues said you can always bring it to them to try and help.
