Avian influenza, specifically the H5N1 strain, has been in the news a lot lately. Since it was first detected in the US in 2022, over 136 million birds have been affected, mostly domestic chickens and ducks. In fact, we have lost over 5 million egg-laying chickens in 2025 alone. It is scary for those in the poultry business and with backyard flocks, but it’s also important to avoid overreacting. More specifically, people have become concerned over whether they should interact with wild birds at all, especially given how popular bird feeding has become.
It is important to remember that just because it is called “bird flu,” not all birds are the same. waterfowl are one of our most ancient groups of birds, while cardinals and buntings are one of the newest. In fact, a cardinal at your feeder less closely related to a wild Mallard as we are to rabbits! And there’s a reason we don’t speak of a “mammal flu.”
There are 254 families of birds in the world carrying a wide diversity of genetic material.
Media, governmental agencies, and citizens rarely differentiate the groups of birds that have suffered from bird flu from all other birds, and this is causing unnecessary concern and fear. To date, the only wild birds that have been documented with high susceptibility to H5N1 are waterfowl, shorebirds, and colonial nesting seabirds, especially those that flock in wetland and aquatic habitats. It has also been found in predators and scavengers of these species. It is extremely rare for it to show up in songbirds, the group that includes just about all of our feeder birds. Recent peer-reviewed research has revealed that songbirds do not readily contract bird flu, nor do they shed the virus easily. Therefore, they are not good vectors of transmission. More significantly, this has shown to remain true even when songbirds are in close proximity to domestic poultry flocks.
We are monitoring the situation closely, but for people who find joy in feeding birds in their backyards, there is no reason to take down their bird feeders. The USDA has not made any statement to do so outside of areas with poultry. Bird flu is not readily transmissible from birds to humans. The few cases that have appeared so far have involved people who work closely with domestic bird flocks, mostly in concentrated animal feeding operations which are notorious for spreading zoonotic disease. Recent cases in farm animals have been limited to dairy cattle kept in close proximity with infected poultry flocks. Mammal to mammal transmission is still extremely rare, however, at least at this time.
We do urge you to separate domestic poultry and waterfowl from wild waterfowl, such as ducks and geese, however. (More info on biocontrol in backyard flocks from: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/defend-the-flock ). For people who raise poultry, it is not recommended to place feeders in the vicinity of those birds just to be absolutely sure.
Regardless of the minimal threat posed to and by “feeder birds,” it is a good practice to regularly clean feeders and monitor any birds that may appear sick from any type of circulating virus. There are much more prevalent and deadly diseases that are readily transmitted through dirty feeding stations than H5N1, such as Salmonella and conjunctivitis. These diseases are very harmful to our feeder visitors and easily spread amongst them. Proper feeder stewardship is important to minimize the spread of these diseases and would also help in the case of avian flu.
A good rule of thumb is to not top off your feeders until they are completely or nearly empty. Then dump out any remaining seed before re-filling. This goes a long way in preventing old seed from compacting at the bottom of a feeder and harboring mold, bacteria, or viruses. Periodically, you will need to more thoroughly clean your feeders. Take the feeder apart to the extent possible (ask us about our lines of easy to clean feeders) and scrub all surfaces with a stiff-bristled brush and hot water. If more extensive cleaning is needed, a solution of one part white vinegar to 4 parts water is a good disinfectant. And, if sick birds have been spotted at your feeders, you should take all feeders down for a week or more and disinfect them thoroughly. When a sick bird is seen, a solution of one part bleach to 10 parts water is warranted. Just be sure to rinse well and dry before putting them back out.
Good cleaning practice also includes the area under feeders. Be sure to rake up accumulated shells and droppings left behind as the snow melts. If a sick or dead bird is encountered, contact your state wildlife agency, and do not handle it without taking the proper safety precautions.
Being good stewards of our backyard birds means cleaning feeders and the areas around them. There’s just no getting around it. Since we are trying to help them, we need to make sure to minimize the risk of any disease spreading, always, and not just when something is in the news cycle. So while we continue to monitor the situation, for now, there’s no reason to change your bird feeding habits, but it’s never too soon to give them a thorough cleaning.