The Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) is encouraging the public to report specific types of bird deaths to the agency:
- Five or more dead vultures, waterfowl, shorebirds, or seabirds in the same area within five days
- Sick or dead eagles, hawks, owls, or turkeys, excluding carcasses found on the road
- Ten or more dead wild birds of any other species in the same area within five days
DWR writes about avian influenza, aka “bird flu,” “In Virginia, mortality from this HPAI virus has been seen in vultures and other raptors, avian scavengers (gulls, crows), some shorebirds and waterbirds (sanderlings, grebes), and some waterfowl (primarily geese).” Bird flu has been reported on the Northern Neck as recently, per reports, as March in Lancaster and Westmoreland counties. The last report in Northumberland County was in February.
DWR explains the difference between bird flu and HPAI:
Avian influenza (“bird flu”) is a viral illness commonly found in certain wild bird populations, most notably waterfowl and shorebirds. Wild birds, including waterfowl and some shorebirds and seabirds, may carry a variety of avian influenza (AI) viruses without exhibiting clinical signs of illness.
Occasionally, AI viruses change into forms that are deadly to domestic chickens and turkeys. These viruses are known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses, and the designation of “highly pathogenic” refers to its effect on domestic poultry, not humans or wildlife. A highly pathogenic H5N1 virus has been circulating in wild birds in North America since late 2021, causing sporadic mortality events in wild birds and infections in domestic poultry and dairy cattle. Numerous mammalian species have also been shown to be susceptible, typically acquiring disease from scavenging of infected bird carcasses.
Learn more about avian influenza from DWR by reading Avian Influenza.