Fersiwn Gymraeg ar gael yma
In Meirionnydd, north Wales, you’ll find one of the most important populations of breeding hawfinches in the UK. However, a rise in the cases of trichomonosis, a deadly disease that affects birds, is threatening this rare and beautiful bird. In this blog, we discuss what can be done to help protect this striking bird this summer.
What are hawfinches?
The hawfinch is a rare woodland bird that is attracted to sunflower seeds provided in gardens. The area around Dolgellau holds one of the five most important populations of hawfinch in the UK and is one of the two principal breeding areas in Wales. Hawfinches have massive bills, which are powerful enough to split yew seeds, cherry stones and beechmast, and their jaws can exert pressure a thousand times its own weight, equivalent to 150lbs per square inch.
Sadly, the population of hawfinches in Meirionnydd is suffering from a severe increase in a nasty disease called trichomonosis, which is causing them to decline.
What is trichomonosis?
Trichomonosis is a disease that causes lesions in the throat of the infected bird, which makes it progressively harder for the bird to swallow its food. In addition to showing signs of general illness such as lethargy and fluffed-up plumage, affected birds may regurgitate food, have difficulty swallowing or show laboured breathing. Finches frequently have matted wet plumage around the face and beak, and uneaten food in and around the beak. Sometimes it is possible to see swelling in the throat area of an infected bird and it may stretch its neck in discomfort.
Trichomonosis is the primary cause of a 79% decline in greenfinch in Wales over the last 10 years, and a 38% decline in chaffinch, so a similar decline could be catastrophic for the hawfinch population.
What can we do?
In order to prevent this disease from spreading, in July, we encouraged people living in Meirionnydd, including the towns of Blaenau Ffestiniog, Bala, Penrhyndeudraeth and Barmo, to stop providing bird food in gardens for the rest of the summer and to stop providing water for birds at any time. This encouraged the birds to disperse across the countryside, where they are less likely to transmit the disease to each other. We would like to thank everyone for your cooperation and patience during this period.
We encourage everyone who lives in Meirionnydd to refrain from providing food/water to birds in their gardens until the end of September. As there are plenty of natural sources of food and water around over the next few weeks, there is no need to provide food for birds in gardens. Also, this will help prevent the spread of the disease and give the hawfinch and other birds a better chance of survival.
To learn more about the importance of keeping bird feeding equipment clean and for more tips on how to prevent spreading bird diseases, click this link.