Lobby Dosser said:

Greg wrote:

But I hardly think it's worth putting up a birdbath if it contributes
to the spread of an avian disease. Birds are overly sensitive to
bacterial infections. Any place where 50+ birds a day bathe, poop,
and drink should be maintained meticulously - or what's the point?


While I agree that bird baths should be maintained and that wood is a poor
choice for bird bath material, I will point out that these are Wild birds.
There are lots of Bad Things in the wild and the birds seem to do just
fine. I live about a quarter mile from an urban refuge of sorts. I
regularly see birds eating, drinking and bathing in stagnant little ponds
or puddles. Including geese and ducks (all winter) - their bowel habits are
legendary. I would not drink the water - they do.

Not trying to start anything here, but only to make a point.

Africans drink bad water as well. And they still get Guinea Worms.
Many die. Many spend painful months dealing with the infections. Yet
there are still many people who flock to contaminated water holes to
drink the water. This doesn't make it healthy or desirable.
http://www.astdhpphe.org/infect/guinea.html

Captive (pet) birds are actually far less likely to suffer from the
spread of disease than wild birds - unless it's a breeders'
enterprise. You don't generally pass a disease to yourself. I know
of no individuals who contracted Aids from self-abuse. ;-)

Avian Influenza (Bird flu) is reaching epidemic proportions in parts
of the world - and is gaining a foothold in the US as well. It is
well known in Canada.

Unless you are banding the birds and tracking which ones may or may
not succumb to disease, you cannot confirm that they aren't suffering
from the act of drinking bad water. Songbirds are far more delicate
and susceptible than ducks, geese, and pigeons. Additionally, many
people (like us), live on migration routes, and birds who come to
drink from our bird ponds can be infected by diseases they aren't
normally exposed to, and have no natural immunity to contradict a
swift death. Some become carriers, thereby transporting the disease
across thousands of miles before infecting the local population of yet
another region.

Naturally, all of this is going to happen on it's own over time, by
virtue of the disease's own survival devices. But it certainly
doesn't need our inadvertent help in spreading, either.

Remember, the Native Indians of this country weren't wiped out by guns
as much as by the diseases brought from Europe by the white-man.

And the plague... well... what can I say?

FWIW,

Greg G.