South coast lorikeets dead due to bacteria

WIRES sent deceased lorikeets to a research team at Sydney University Camden for testing, and early results showed E.coli bacterium in three out of four bodies.

WIRES Mid-South Coast chair and joint avian coordinator Janelle Renes said dead lorikeets were reported across the region including in Nowra, Ulladulla, Long Beach, Batemans Bay and Moruya.

"We're not sure yet whether the bacteria is in something the birds are eating or drinking, but the saddest part is, because rainbow lorikeets are such social birds, they're passing it on to each other very quickly," Ms Renes said.

"The sick birds we're treating are not able to hold any drink, when we try to rehydrate them it's just coming out of their noses, and they're dying within hours.

"A healthy lorikeet is about 140 grams, but these sick ones are coming to us under 100 grams which is very sad to see."

WIRES worked closely with researchers at Sydney University who said a combination of strong antibiotics could help treat sick birds, but in the meantime the public should help make sure the bacteria doesn't spread.

"We're asking people not to feed birds as it can spread disease," Ms Renes said.

"Anyone who has a bird bath in their garden, please clean them every single day with bleach and a good scrub so we can make sure we stop the bacteria spreading."

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More tests on the birds' tissues will be conducted to find out if there were any other causes of death, with results expected in the next few weeks.

"Professor David Phalen and his team have done a fantastic job testing and we're keen to get facts out to people about what they can do to help," Ms Renes said.

The bacteria does not appear to have spread to other bird species but the public should report other sick or dead birds to their nearest WIRES branch.

On social media, shire residents speculated about 5G towers and whether they were to blame for the sudden increase in bird deaths.

"There are some pretty wild conspiracies out there, but the testing is showing bacteria is most likely to blame," Ms Renes said.