Our blackbirds fed their young on our mealworms all summer. They ate them themselves as well, with great relish.
However, the two female blackbirds that fed their broods from our table seem to have become addicted to mealworms, and will not eat the raspberries/blackberries that we put out.
They have both lost all the feathers from their heads; it is like having small vultures in the garden. One seems to be recovering, but the other is not. The rest of their feathers seem in good trim, so I doubt it is just seasonal moulting.
Should we stop the mealworms for a while, so our visitors are forced to get a balanced diet? I hope Mrs. Swifty doesn't see this suggestions; she would likely adopt a similar approach with me!
Swifty (aka "Steve Swift") http://www.swiftys.org.uk/
Hi Steve and welcome to the forum. Love your last comment!
I am no expert on this I freely admit but I have seen a number of queries re: bald blackbirds this year on various forums and also, latterly, the Autumnwatch message board. Thus it does seem to be being noticed more during this summer / autumn. Of my own resident blackbirds (two pairs), certainly one male had quite a serious bald patch on the back of his head and it is taking a long time for new feathers to grow through but they are slowly coming. I don't think this can be a result of a mealworm diet particularly as I don't feed them to "my" birds.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
Welcome to the forum Steve!
I agree with Squirrel, Think it is highly unlikely that it is the mealworms doing this! I've seen quite a few bald blackbirds as well and think it is down partly to going through vegetation constantly to & from the nest and also partly due to the fact that they go through a moult at the end of the summer....
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
OK, If "Mrs B" (short for Mrs Baldy) is eating nothing but mealworms (and I've not seen her take any of our raspberries) then she's on the avian equivalent of the "Atkins Diet", and that has some pretty extreme side effects on us humans.
I'll wait and see. The younger female blackbird has a "skull cap" of new growth now. It's comforting (in a way) to know that others have seen this.
If all else fails, I'll have to knit Mrs B a balaclava for the winter.
Is it like this (see attached picture) if so i'd imagine it's a mite infestation.
Hi Lloyd
I can't open the picture for some reason. Had this problem with another picture earlier so it could be me but I thought I'd best mention it.
Other than being on the top of the head, yes, it is just like that. I don't suppose there is anything we can do to help? It would have to be via something fed with the mealworms; we'd never be able to catch her.
Christopher S said: Other than being on the top of the head, yes, it is just like that. I don't suppose there is anything we can do to help? It would have to be via something fed with the mealworms; we'd never be able to catch her.
"Bird mites", is the common name used to describe the mite Ornithonyssus bursa from the family of mites Macronyssidae. These mites are often incorrectly called 'bird lice', particularly within the pest control industry. Bird mites are most active during Spring and early Summer.
Ornithonyssus bursa is a small but extremely mobile mite, barely visible to the eye, with eight legs (except the larva/nymph that has 6), under a microscope they are oval in shape and with a sparse covering of short hairs. The mite is widely distributed throughout warmer regions of the world. It is a parasite, feeding on the blood of common birds including pigeons, starlings, blackbirds, sparrows and other wild birds. Bird mites are semi-transparent in colour, which makes them difficult to detect on skin until blood is ingested and then digested; when they may appear reddish to blackish.
When the young birds leave the nest, or die, many mites (often many tens of thousands) are left behind in the absence of a suitable host, and these will disperse from the nest into and throughout the dwelling searching for new hosts. Most mites will die within 3 weeks without a blood meal from a bird host. They will bite humans they encounter but cannot survive on humans. As they feed of the bird host they iiritate the skin and disrupt the delivery of nutirition to feathers causing them to die off and fall out.
Unfortunately when wild birds are afflicted with this condition they cannot be treated as domestic birds can be. Dosages must be exact for individual birds over a prolonged period of time. Additatives included feed or water could affect other healthy birds and attempting to catch the birds is a logisitcal nightmare as well as putting unecessary stress on the birds. This is something which they can potentially recover from although as the weather becomes less stable they are more vulnerable to the cold through increased heat loss etc…