#birders

[cathartidae]

so, many of you have probably seen news about one of the first recorded severe case of HPAI (avian flu) in humans.

a lot of you who follow me are birders or inatters or adjacent. hence, a lot of you guys have birdfeeders.

from a rehab worker of almost 3 years: Disinfect your goddamn feeders. not only for HPAI but other diseases, such as avian pox, and for the safety of the birds

and of course, heres how!

now here at rehab we use rescue to disinfect, which is a big ol fancy thing that looks like this

for all our stuff. it's about 1-2tbsp rescue per 32oz water. however, most of you guys cant get a hold of it. so, heres some other things suggested by friends & coworkers that will work just as well

-diluted hydrogen peroxide

-bleach (diluted)

etc. in addition, it's best to use the hottest water you can handle in order to kill off more viruses (our industrial washer does up to 200°F, but whatever you can works just as well.)

the most important thing here is to USE GLOVES!!! PLEASE. pair of gloves to wash it and preferably when youre rinsing it use a DIFFERENT pair of gloves so it doesnt get dirty again.

lastly, if youre seeing visibly uninjured dead birds in your yard, lethargic birds at your feeder, red discolouration or growths on exposed skin, blood on your feeder, or anything else you might deem unusual, take down your feeder. the birds will get food elsewhere i promise, just leave it down for two weeks at least and sterilize it using any of the steps above.

also. please dont hand feed birds. yes even ducks. please please ignore what you see on instagram, it only creates more work for rehabbers. this includes trying to camouflage yourself and feed the birds from your hand when they dont know youre a person. it only hurts you and the birds, and yes this includes hummingbirds. do not try and feed birds off of yourself directly. please. thank you

be safe, clean your feeders, and happy birding!

in addition, below is an approximate of the procedure we use at my work to prevent outbreaks in our residents/patients.

changing aprons between birds, esp for personable birds (assimilated to people, like to fly onto you), switch gloves between birds, between touching hoses, etc. spray or dip + scrape shoes into rescue/accel solution before entering enclosures & or buildings. daily mopping w rescue solution, all dishes are hand washed with soap and hot water, then sent into an industrial washer @ 200°F.

[littlehikerbird]

So I was trying to draw a logo for an old brand idea and came up with this goose. While the brand never amounted to anything, I just had to give the goose a caption that it deserved. Wound up making it into a cute sticker design. If you'd like one, I'll mail you one and you can get some happy mail: https://www.littlehikerbird.com/collections/stickers

Thanks so much for checking out my little silly goose! :)

You can also follow me on Instagram @LittleHikerBird

[linabirdwatchin]

​Winter Visitor: The Golden crowned Sparrow Species: Golden crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)

​Today’s highlight was an up close encounter with this beautiful Golden crowned Sparrow. This individual is likely in its immature or non-breeding plumage, which you can tell by the more muted, "smudged" yellow on its forehead and the brown (rather than bold black) stripes on its crown.

​The "Weary Willie" of the West

For birders, this species is famous for its haunting, three note whistle in a minor key. During the Klondike Gold Rush, lonely miners nicknamed this bird "Weary Willie" because they thought its song sounded like it was sighing "I’m so tired" or, even more bleakly, "No gold here." In modern birding circles, many of us describe the song as a melancholic "Oh, dear me."

[shutterbug-12]

Sam & Ade Go Birding (2026) | Series 1, Episode 1

Smiley Sam + Birds

[geopsych]

Calling all birders in the mid-Atlantic to New England: is this a snipe? Saw it in eastern Pennsylvania an hour ago.

[viejito-at-heart]

okay maybe I’m the dumb one for not knowing this bird existed but

Holy shit

YEAH THAT WREN IS GIANT ALRIGHT

its sheer size strikes fear into my heart. no wren needs to be that Fucken Large.

for context this is the size of the average wren you’ll encounter in North America

[jadafitch]

My favorite spread from, I Love Birds Activity Book.