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A mysterious sickness blinding birds has disappeared as suddenly as it arrived



Birds flock to a feeder as snow falls in January 2021 in Takoma Park, Md. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

By Teo Armus
Today at 5:30 p.m. EDT

Earlier this summer, as birds started mysteriously dying across the D.C. region, Paul Pisano heeded the call from Virginia wildlife officials: He took down his bird-feeder.

An avid birdwatcher who lives in Arlington’s Aurora Highlands neighborhood, the 58-year-old said he complied with the rule — an avian social distancing measure, of sorts — to protect the blue jays, grackles and finches that come to snack on birdseed on his front porch.

Two months later, no one seems to know what was causing the illness that was making the birds’ eyes swell up or release discharge. But Pisano’s bird-feeder is back out.

[Birds are going blind in the Washington region, and wildlife experts don’t know why]

Last week, officials with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources gave him and others the green-light: Residents in the northern and northwestern parts of the state should feel free to set out bird-feeders again, they said, as flocks prepare to migrate south in the coming months.

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By Teo Armus
Teo Armus covers politics, government and other regional issues in Arlington and Alexandria for The Washington Post. He joined The Post as a staff writer in 2019. Twitter https://twitter.com/teoarmus