[TopOfUtah] Finch Disease

[Jason Pietrzak]

I've just returned from a driving trip from Florida, through Texas (all
coast and Rio Grande Valley, in case anybody wants any travel tips) and I've
found that one of my feeder visitors is a House Finch with a bad case of
disease in one eye. His other eye looks fine and he is eating well so I
don't think catching him will be particularly easy. Despite his strong
coloration, I noticed the other birds dominating him and chasing him away
from food sources and this of course made me nervous, so here are some
questions:

1. Is the eye disease contagious enough that I should actively watch for
this bird and chase him away from the feeder?

2. Do I need to clean this feeder out every time I see this bird?

3. Does anybody have any decent methods for catching a finch?

4. Does the cold weather we have overnight sterilize the contaminated areas
at all?

I'm asking because he does seem to hop all over the places where all of the
other birds go and I would rather not constantly chase all the birds away
because he is sticking with them. I did successfully catch a Finch when I
was in New Hampshire during the holiday, but that Finch had disease in both
eyes and was much weaker looking (and even that Finch made me hop a couple
fences in pursuit). Thanks for all your ideas, tips, and feedback!

Jason Pietrzak
Logan
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