This year’s ‘Cicadapocalypse,’ which brought about two broods of periodical cicadas, has come and gone. With the next generation of Brood XIII and Brood XIX now nesting, life has returned to normal. Just as the broods began to rise this past spring, we discussed how birds would react to these cicadas, which they would see as a beneficial food source. We asked you to send in any photos you had of birds eating cicadas, and now that the buzzing has died down, let’s take a look at some of the best pictures you sent in!

Red-bellied Woodpecker. Photo by Alexander James/Birding in Chicago.

Baltimore Oriole. Photo by Susan Szeszol/Chicago BirdGirl Photography.

Song Sparrow. Photo by Susan Szeszol/Chicago BirdGirl Photography.

American Robin. Photo by Susan Szeszol/Chicago BirdGirl Photography.

Tricolored Blackbird. Photo by Judy Pollock.

These photos capture songbirds scavenging for cicadas perfectly, but that’s not all! We’d like to give a special shoutout to Marc Kramer/Birding by Bus for sending us a short video of a White-whiskered Puffbird attempting to eat a cicada in Costa Rica back in January 2023! It may not be a bird you can find here in Chicagoland nor was it filmed during this year’s periodical cicada season, but Marc’s footage was captured so perfectly that it deserved an honorary mention! Thank you for the video submission, Marc!

White-whiskered Puffbird. Video by Marc Kramer/Birding by Bus.

As expected, it was a delightful meal for birds, and the results were fascinating both in pictures and in person! Thank you to everyone who sent us their photos! If you’d like to see more of their bird photos, give them a follow on their social media pages below!

Birding in Chicago: Instagram

Chicago BirdGirl Photography: Facebook | Instagram

Birding by Bus: Website | Facebook | Instagram

However, while birders were observing their favorite species gobbling up cicadas, a concerning discovery was made by DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center in Glen Ellyn.

At the height of the cicada season, the Wildlife Center began receiving baby birds that were starting to lose their vision. More than 50 fledglings were displaying the same symptoms: swollen, crusted eyes that showed damage to their corneas.

According to reports, the fledglings have primarily been Sparrows, Blue Jays, Grackles, Cowbirds, and Starlings. Test results on the fledglings showed that they all had a lack of vitamin A. It’s believed that fledglings require more vitamin A than full-grown adults due to the fact that their small bodies are still maturing.

A fledgling Blue Jay with a severe case of swollen eyes due to vitamin A deficiency. Photo by DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center.

Fortunately, the infection isn’t fatal, and the Wildlife Center has successfully treated the fledglings with vitamin A and eye medication, resulting in the birds making a full recovery.

Surprisingly, this wasn’t the first time these symptoms were witnessed in birds. In 2021 an unknown disease was detected among birds which mirrored the one ailing fledglings this summer. However, the source of that infection was never confirmed.

With the recent wave of cicadas having befallen the country, and cicada bodies being devoid of vitamin A according to scientific examination, it has been speculated that the fledglings’ diet may have solely been cicadas for the spring and summertime. This could explain the lack of vitamin A and the blindness, and it’s not a far-fetched theory, considering that the infections from 2021 coincided with cicada Brood X’s mating season and that the infected birds were all living in that brood’s range.

Whether or not Sparrows, Blue Jays, Grackles, Cowbirds, and Starlings feasted upon cicadas the most out of all birds in the Chicago area, the fact is that these birds were feeding their young large quantities of cicadas, and all of a sudden, some fledglings began to go blind. The timeframe lines up so well that it appears more than coincidental.

Notice the damage to the eye of this fledgling Blue Jay as it suffers from blindness. Photo by DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center.

Sarah Reich, head veterinarian of DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center, commented on this rising issue, and revealed that a project currently being conducted with the National Wildlife Health Center is looking into this possible connection.

“They have performed necropsies, histopathology, and infectious disease testing on multiple birds we have sent them,” Reich said when asked by the Chicago Bird Alliance if the fledglings were indeed going blind by solely eating cicadas. “They all so far have found evidence of squamous metaplasia likely from vitamin A deficiency in all of them and matched the same results that were found with the 2021 ‘mystery songbird disease’ outbreak.”

Reich went on to say that tests were also being conducted on cicadas found in the same area as the infected birds, though the results won’t be known for a while.

A fledgling Common Grackle being successfully treated for its eye infection and nursed back to health. Photo by DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center.

“There will be a publication in the future,” Reich assured. “But they want to make sure that everyone/every entity that was involved with this process over the last three years gets input.”

As we wait for the results, we can only hope that the source of the disease will be identified and that, with the periodical cicadas now gone, fledglings are no longer suffering from vision loss.

In spite of the awful blindness that was infecting fledglings, seeing so many birds eat cicadas was a sight to behold. It gave birders and ornithologists the opportunity to observe birds adapting in real time to a food source and using it to their own advantage. Acting as scavengers in a way, birds were the unsung heroes of the ‘Cicadapocalypse,’ taking care of the overabundance of cicadas as much as possible. Whereas some may have wanted to use harmful pesticides to control the cicada populations, sometimes all we really need to do is simply trust in nature.

Source
Cicada-Induced Vitamin Deficiency Linked to Mystery Disease in Illinois Birds - WTTW, Patty Wetli, June 11, 2024