Just anuther blog

I have accumulated a little more than 560 pictures and this should probably be multiple blogs. Hurricane Isaias passed by us and knocked out power for twenty plus hours. We had a generator and internet, so it wasn’t a big problem. We have not seen Adnaw since the hurricane. 🙁

Poor Tommy

This really disturbed my WAH. We suspect that Tommy has AVIAN POX. We contacted the DNR and the local vet. Here is the DNR response.

Hi Mr. Moeller,

Thank you for sending the pictures and reporting this bird.

It does appear to be infected with either Avian Pox or Lymphoproliferative Disease Virus (LPDV). Both viruses cause wart like lesions on the non-feathered portions of the body. While unsightly to look at, turkeys can live with these viruses, and sometimes the lesions heal on their own. The lesions do not appear to be blocking the bird’s vision so as long as it is able to get around and find food it has a good chance at survival.

These viruses can be transmitted through direct contact from one turkey to another so it is highly recommended that you take down your bird feeders to discourage multiple turkeys feeding on bird seed within close proximity of each other. Avian pox can occur in chickens however, there is no evidence to my knowledge that these viruses effect other species of wild song birds that typically visit bird feeders.

The turkey in the photos appears to be a bearded hen. Did it have any young with it? Regardless if it did or not, the Department is conducting an online survey through the end of August and asking the public to report sightings of hens, with or without young, and there is a question about if any of the birds observed showed evidence of these infections. This information helps us to track the prevalance of these viruses in the population throughout the state.

If you have time, the survey only takes about 5 minutes or so to complete and can be found on the NHFG website at www.wildnh.com<http://www.wildnh.com>. There is a picture of a turkey on the top right – just click on that and it will take you to the survey.

Certified Wildlife Biologist, Certified Public Manager, NH Fish and Game

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We thought Tommy was a male because of the beard. I guess she is a Tammy and not a Tommy. We will keep an eye on her. She is a solitary creature. Mostly the three hens and chicks do no associate with Tammy but they do share a roosting tree. When we searched the internet, it says that this can be transmitted by mosquitoes, of which we have plenty. In fact the DNR had a testing program from the turkey hunters and seventy-seven percent of the harvested turkeys had the avian pox. It looks like Tammy may be able to survive this, but she seems like a very unhappy creature right now. Tammy is the first bearded hen I have come across, but they are known to exist.

Turkeys

The turkey flock is still roosting in the ash tree on the corner of our lot. We see them in the morning as they get up and in the evening as they get ready to roost. There is plenty of forage in the fields so they don’t spend too much time at the bird feeding station.

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We need to do a better job of sanitizing the bird baths. The turkeys can get to the porch bird baths but don’t tend to get up on the porch. The fountain causes the algae to really grow.

Bathing Beauties

The bird baths are popular in the heat wave. Got another shock at the bird bath.

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Apparently it is normal for molting bluejays to lose all the feathers on their heads at once. We have more than one bluejay in this condition. I can tell because one is growing new feathers but is still noticeably bald.

The other birds are taking advantage of the fresh water as well.

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Eagles

We are seeing eagles consistently on the point. We have seen a mix of adult and immature Bald Eagles. The big bruiser has also showed up again. I tried to get a better picture but have not achieved much success up to this point.

My impression when I first saw Bruiser was that he was bigger than the bald eagles. He was also dark all over.

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I walked down to the shore to get some of these pictures. Between Bengi and the mosquitoes, it was hard to get pictures. Bruiser also took flight shortly after we got down to the shore. We did scare up two great blue herons on our way down.

Oh Dear

The deer have been active.

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Experiment at the Bird Feeders

Last season, we saw orioles dipping bugs in the grape jelly. We hypothesized that the orioles would prefer candied mealworms over straight jelly. So we set up an experiment to test the hypothesis. We added mealworms to two Oriole feeding stations and left two as jelly only. Then we set up a video camera and still cameras to observe what happened.

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The results of the experiment will be reported in a future blog once the data is analyzed.

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SQRL

The squirrels have been on the bird feeders and bird baths.

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Cybel/Cyrus

Hurricane Isaias was not kind to Cybel. It shredded her fine dress and now she is exposing too much skin. I guess we will need to put a new outfit on her.

CROWS

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Insects

Because we haven’t seen Adnaw, I haven’t been motivated to go out to the garden to feed the mosquitoes.

Fun with Food

It can be tough to get creative with something as mundane as breakfast but occasionally we get inspired.

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We still try to have a mini BYOB on Friday nights.

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Fun with Bengi

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Bengi surprised us and added another trophy to his collection. He chewed the controller cord on the massage chair.

Hope this finds everyone safe and healthy.

Mark, Wink and Meg