I've read that the period during which the hemlock wooly adelgid may be spread by birds is March through July. During the rest of the year the insect is securely attached to the host tree.
It's recommended not to place bird feeders in or near hemlocks. A five minute walk (quarter of a mile) doesn't sound very near to me... http://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/forest_health/insects/hemlock_woolly_adelgid_fact_sheet.htm -Geo Kloppel On Feb 7, 2015, at 2:24 PM, joe & Diana <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi All, > My husband andI have maintained a suet and bird feeder in our local > Skaneateles Conservation area for several years. We fill them both daily and > the feeder usually just has the same local birds year round with the > exception of the Tree Sparrows that settle in for the winter. We enjoy > watching them and so do many others that like to sit in their car and get a > close up view of the birds. > We just found a note on the tree today informing us to remove the feeders > due to the fear of the feeders attracting migratory birds that could possibly > spread the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid to some hemlocks that are about a five to > ten minute walk away. I understand that hemlocks are having problems, but is > a single bird feeder with a suet cake really contributing to the risk? I post > the birds for this feeder on ebird and the cast of characters rarely change. > > Any help would be appreciated. > > Diana Whiting > > Diana Whiting > http://www.dianawhitingphotography.com/ > > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
