Trichomoniasis still a threat

It appears from looking on other bird forums and media, that Trichomoniasis is still around and taking a heavy toll on Greenfinches. Unfortunately this disease is deadly and seems to affect mainly Greenfinches and Pigeons.

The signs to look for are swollen throats, matted featers around the mouth and throat, lethargy and the inability to swallow food.

If you see signs of this, then it is advised to stop feeding for a couple of weeks, disinfect all feeding surfaces, retain only the nut type feeders for Blue tits etc and empty any static water sources, as the disease spreads through saliva.

Below is a picture of a stricken Pigeon. Click on the thumbnail to enlarge.

http://www.wellenkamp.com/photopost/...sickpigeon.jpg

Gosh poor thing. I see a great deal of green finches around her but they all look healthy TG

There has been a serious decline in the local numbers here, I hardly ever see one, yet a year or so ago, they would be constant visitors to the garden.

Yes I have to admit I haven't seen about half the amount there were last year. Last year they seamed like an epidemic every where you went there were Greenfinch. There are quite a few but now i think about it now where near as many.

I was worried about my sparrows as I didn't appear to have any in my roof any more. I've still not seen them at my roof, but I did see a few around my hedges today, so even if mine have sucumbed to something at least the other houses haven't gone down... yet.