u/IAmAnElnuk

Put a NSFW tag in case anyone is sensitive to seeing stuff like this.

More of a sad post than a PSA honestly as I know LA is huge and house finch populations are very localized. This sick individual showed up at my balcony feeder yesterday. I'm pretty familiar with the regulars and this bird's condition seems somewhat advanced, so I'm hoping it's not someone in my usual group as I haven't observed anyone with symptoms in the previous days' footage.

I've taken in all my feeder stuff to be washed and bleached, swept up any stray seed, and wiped down all the perches I couldn't take in with isopropyl alcohol. I'm still so scared that it might spread to the little fledglings I've been watching for the past few weeks... or their parents 😭

Apologies for potato quality, these are stills from my bird cam videos. I've seen this finch with a "hole" in its cheek at my feeder for the past two days now. Is that just an exposed ear hole or something more sinister? I'm worried because of the second "hole" that seems to be underneath it.

Feeder setup: Multiple flat dishes with mixed seed, nyjer seed, and sunflower seeds. I put out enough for daily feedings and completely empty and rinse the dishes every night before refilling with fresh seed. I was using isopropyl alcohol to disinfect but became worried recently about the potential to harm the birds even after evaporation 😅

Bird is otherwise behaving normally. Eats voraciously, leaves and returns without difficulty, vocalizes when finch buddies are near.