Bird seed will stay put for a while

I was buying birdseed, and I was feeling kind of stupid about it.

Birdseed is often on the shopping list at our house. We have six bird feeders in the backyard at the moment. In the winter, we’ll usually have seven, two of them suet feeders.

From our kitchen table, we’ve counted dozens of different species over the years, especially during migratory times. Spring usually brings spectacular rose-breasted grosbeaks, and this year for the first time a black-throated blue warbler posed for us for several minutes outside the kitchen window.

So I’m pretty routinely stopping by True Value Hardware in Portland or Valentine’s Feed and Supply in Redkey to pick up another bag of sunflower seed or cardinal mix.

But this time at Valentine’s was different, and as the clerk processed my credit card Mark and I started talking about the DNR and its warnings about birds.

In case you missed the story, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources now has a total of 285 songbird deaths due to some mysterious illness. The bird illness has been reported in 53 of Indiana’s 92 counties. It’s also been reported in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

And the experts still don’t know what it is.

They know it’s not an avian flu or the West Nile virus, but they’re still conducting tests to try to solve the mystery.

In the meantime, the DNR is urging folks not to feed the birds.

Backyard bird feeders — like ours — bring different species together in close quarters. Think of it as kind of an avian food court. And when birds are in close proximity, the experts believe, that’s when the mystery illness spreads.

So if you’re a bird lover, you need to stop feeding the birds, at least for a while.

That’s why I felt kind of stupid when I hauled a 20-pound bag of sunflower seed and a 14-pound bag of the best cardinal mix to my car.

I’d let my shopping habits take over, and now I had a trunk full of birdseed and the experts telling me not to put it out.

So what do you do in a situation like that?

If you’re someone who has taken the warnings of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention seriously throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — as my wife and I have — the decision is pretty clear.

If you’re someone who received the Moderna vaccine at the earliest possible opportunity for your age group — as my wife and I did — there’s no question.

If you’re someone who still carries a spare mask or two in the car — as we do — you let the science and the experts guide you.

The birdseed sat in the trunk for a couple of days. Now the bags have been deposited in a couple of galvanized garbage cans in our garage. They’ll be put to use after there’s been an all-clear message.

In the meantime, the DNR says birds will have no trouble filling their tummies this time of year. The natural world has plenty of seed on offer.

Just the same, I could swear one of the cardinals was giving me a dirty look the other day.