Freakiest thing I saw today and I don't think it is normal

[Horse with no Name]

A few months ago I had a discussion with one of my neigbors about not seeing blue jays this year. He said we didn't have many because the West Nile Virus had got them all.
I have a large bucket that I water the dogs out of because I don't want them to run out of water during the summer. I just went out there to fill up their water, and there was a dead blue jay in their water.
It looks like it just fell over and died.
Is this supposed to be reported or what?
Unsure of what to do, if anything.:shrug:

[LiberalVoice]

1. You should probably report it. nt

[oldtime dfl_er]

2. Yes, any dead bird should be reported

Use a plastic bag to pick it up and preserve it as best you can, and then call your city official in charge of public health.

http://www.cafepress.com/scarebaby/665903

[tocqueville]

6. use gloves and desinfect the bucket

[cry baby]

3. Save the bird corpse and report the incident to the health dept.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

20. freeze the corpse

[SmokingJacket]

4. Definitely report it.

I've seen very few blue jays in the last three years.

The crows were gone for a while too, but they seem to be coming back.

[Vincardog]

5. Pick up the Blue Jay in a baggie like you would pick up a piece of

shit. You know don't touch it. Then take it to your Vet. Or call Animal Control or your game warden. Good luck.

[natrat]

7. listen close and you can hear the crys of species dieing

[DistressedAmerican]

8. Might I Recommend Some BBQ Sauce And A Grill?

Just saying...

[elfin]

9. Pick up with gloves, bag it and put in freezer/cooler

to take to proper authorities.

[havocmom]

10. There is a virus birds transmit to each other, can't recall the name,

which caused swelling of the throat. They can't swallow so they get extremely thirsty in the heat. When they try to sip water, they puke it up, which spreads it to other birds from via the water source. Very contagious and also fatal to the birds. Could also be that was the culprit.

Change outside water at least once a day. More often if you live in hot climates like AZ, where I know this is a real problem. Used to just spray some water several times a day for the birds around me during the summer when it becomes more of a problem.

[troubleinwinter]

11. Call Agriculture office

I don't know where you live. I am in California... several months ago, a County Agriculture office rep. came to the door and asked that any dead birds be reported to their office, and not to touch it. Not dangerous to humans, and not West Nile, and not Bird Flu. Some disease that affects birds and is a threat to commercial poultry flocks. Whatever it is, it had wiped out hundreds of thousands of poultry in Calif. a couple of decades ago.

You SHOULD call your local Agricultural Office and let them know.

I always have wondered what happens to all the birds that die of old age! Maybe he was just old, but you really should call.

[donco6]

12. Yes. Do you have a county extension agent?

Or if you're in a city, the health dept. They may be collecting birds to determine impact of W Nile. Our county does.

[seabeyond]

13. in just a two day period, 6 birds in back yard

i thought it was our beagle had just gotten really really good at her hunting. then i found one in the front yard. havent had any dead birds about a week. husband told me last nite, two confirmed cases of west niles in people. so there you have it

when i saw the bird in front lawn, i became concerned if it was disease

[noamnety]

14. You should be able to find out online the reporting guidelines

For instance, here's the michigan site:

http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-8347-17886--M_2001_9,00.html

You can see they tell you which counties they want to test for the virus, which they don't, and the phone number for reporting dead birds.

[Pepperbelly]

15. We had some sporadic outbreaks of West Nile in my country ...

and dead birds became very common.

What freaks me out more is the slow halt of honey bees. Seriously. We have few here anymore.

[kestrel91316]

16. Where are you located?

Jays are corvids, like the crows that have been hit so hard by West Nile. You should call your countyhealth dept to see if they want it for testing/tracking the spread of West Nile. They are doing that here in Los Angeles Co.

What a shame. I love my jays. The crows pretty much vanished for a year after West Nile hit, but the jays seemed to escape it so far. Oh, and SQUIRRELS get West Nile and die, too. They are non-native here so I don't get too worked up about it, and they are damned RATS WITH BUSHY TAILS in my garden. So good riddance to bad rubbish.

[skids]

17. And to cheer you up...

I've seen a few Jays up here in MA. They seem to be doing fine.

[peacebird]

18. Sorry, that had to be such a sad discovery... on the happier side

Blue Jays are still alive and well near Charlottesville

We have loads of them, they love our cherry trees!

Hopefully they will continue to do well, and make a resurgence in the areas where they are fading now.

[neweurope]

19. Vîrus or no - I think it's a good idea to always have a stick or

something else swimming in a water bucket that could be a help to any small animals falling in. We have horses and lots of water buckets around. After the second dead mouse - and I'm still in tears imagining how long the poor animal must have paddled before it finally drowned - it became a RULE to NEVER let water sit around uncovered or with at least a stick or anything else floating in it. A friend of ours had a bird drown in a water barrel for his horses, too.

-----------------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[Sapphire Blue]

21. Links to State and Local Government West Nile Virus Web Sites

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/city_states.htm

[LisaL]

22. West Nile virus?

[ThomWV]

23. My Wife Has Reported A Couple Of Dead Birds

We are in north eastern West Virginia and West Nile is here. We have found a couple of dead birds in places where you wouldn't expted to find one (out in the middle of the yard). I do not recall species other than that one was a female Cardinal. There are Jays here aplenty, as I get to hear each morning and evening.

[Horse with no Name]

24. I looked it up

They do ask you to report crows and blue jay deaths in Texas.
I have the number and will do it tomorrow.
The poster above asked that I put a cover over the bucket...but I have upwards of 50 birds a day stop and get a drink under the trees in this bucket--so I hesitate to cover it. We are in drought conditions in my area--not much water around. There aren't any small animals around that can fall in it--but it is a good idea if there was.
Thanks for all the great tips and thanks for directing me to do what I needed to.:)