Skip to main content

The Bird Flu Blitz of 2022 Continues

Avian influenza is for real, as one waterfowl hunter recounts his first-hand experience watching the deadly effects of the virus while hunting.

The Bird Flu Blitz of 2022 Continues

With waterfowl hunting seasons now in full swing, many hunters are witnessing the awful effects of avian influenza while in the field. (Photo By: Scott Haugen)

Wildfowl began reporting on the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) back in March 2022, and has been providing readers with updates since then, including changing restrictions for hunters heading up into Canada this season. 

According to the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), HPAI first appeared along the East Coast and has spread across North America affecting wild waterfowl populations, as well as other birds and mammals, and the domestic poultry industry. Now, with winter migrations in full motion, the bird flu continues to fly wild. As of December 6, 2022, APHIS is reporting a total of 4,362 positive cases that have been detected in the United States from coast to coast. The agency anticipates additional avian influenza detections will continue into the spring.

aphis bird flu detection map december 2022
As of December 6, 2022, there have been a total of 4,362 positive detections of HPAI across the United States. (Photo couresy of APHIS

Seeing Is Believing 

This week I hunted six days and the escalation of avian influenza that I witnessed left no doubt to the seriousness of this virus. I saw it while hunting and when visiting a nearby wildlife refuge.

When hunting on November 23, 2022, in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, south of Corvallis, a lone honker responded to my calls. It circled the decoys three times and eventually landed. I didn’t shoot it because it just didn’t look right. Its wingbeat was faster paced than normal with abbreviated motion. Then I got a good look at its neck before it landed and it was retracted and uncomfortably bent, just like I’d seen with dying birds on the ground.

Recommended


The goose landed in the water then went to preening. But it was an unusual action with erratic movements. The goose slowly moved to land where it stumbled and tried preening but lost its balance. This happened repeatedly. Ducks came and went, I shot a few, but the goose didn’t move. Finally, I ran it off. I got inside 10 yards before it finally flew away. It was slow to take to the air, stayed low, and landed 300 yards away in a field, where I’m sure it soon died.

cackling goose sick with bird flu
A photograph of the goose the author observed displaying abnormal signs shortly before it perished. (Photo By: Austin Crowson)

After the hunt I went to Finley National Wildlife Refuge, 20 minutes from my hunting spot. This refuge is home to the world’s highest population of wintering dusky Canada geese. It’s also the hub of cacklers that winter in the valley to graze on grass. Tundra swans and thousands of puddle ducks also winter here. Other subspecies of Canada geese live here, too. During my three hours at the refuge, I counted 11 dead or dying geese and saw nearly twice that number of geese that had been feasted on by raptors.

Dead On Arrival           

I ran into Edward Paush, the refuge manager. He’d just filled up the second large trash bag of the morning with dead geese; mostly cacklers, with a tundra swan and a couple dusky geese. It was his ninth day of collecting birds that had died from avian influenza, and he’d just gone over the 100 mark. And those were just the birds that could be reached from the road. Who knows how many remain in the thick marsh and on the water? 

cleaning up dead geese from avian influenza
Wildlife managers across North America continue to clean up dead waterfowl who have succumbed to bird flu. (Photo By: Scott Haugen)

In one spot I watched three cacklers on the water, along with two dusky Canadas. Two cacks swam in tight circles for over an hour with heads craned tight to their backs and they wobbled from side-to-side. The other cackler stood in one spot, bobbed its head, and swiveled its neck from one side to the other. One dusky swam in a tiny, erratic circle while the other seemed more agitated until it violently launched into flight like a puddle duck. Rapidly beating its wings, the goose flew straight up about 50 yards, then folded like it had been shot and fell stone dead to the ground. I saw three geese die while I was there. This strain of bird flu is hitting waterfowl very hard. Think Coronavirus but for birds.

Learn to See the Signs

Uncoordinated movement, loss of flight control, cloudy eyes, and head shaking and bobbing are some of the key signs you’ll see from ducks and geese that have contracted avian influenza. “Within 72 hours of the signs surfacing, most birds will die,” notes Julia Burco, a field wildlife veterinarian with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).

It’s also worth noting a steady increase of raptor deaths in areas where infected waterfowl are being scavenged upon. In other states, skunks, red foxes, and coyotes have contracted the avian flu from eating dead waterfowl. 

dead goose eaten by scavengers
Eagles, hawks, and other raptors (as well as mammalian predators) are contracting avian influenza after scavenging on waterfowl who died from the virus. (Photo By: Scott Haugen)

Despite the supposed low risk of domestic dogs contracting the virus, some waterfowl hunters in the region have quit hunting with their dogs until more is known about how the virus is spread across species. Others are just being more careful, not letting their dogs roam ponds where they might happen upon a sick goose or letting them lick retrieved birds.

Brandon Reishus, migratory game bird coordinator for OFWD, advises hunters to not give the raw livers and hearts of ducks and geese to your dog. “Hunters who will be handling larger numbers of birds will want to wear rubber gloves when carrying (and cleaning) them,” he added.

Stay Safe

Authorities advise handling dead birds with rubber gloves and a face mask, and immediately washing their clothes once home. Keep a watchful eye and be sure to cook all waterfowl meat to 165 degrees Fahrenheit before eating. 

With wet, cold conditions and waterfowl migrations peaking in the coming weeks, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen with this strain of deadly avian influenza. It appears hunting seasons will remain open in this part of the country, for now, but as quickly as bird deaths are escalating, there are no certainties. 

Stay tuned to Wildfowl for more bird flu updates throughout the 2022-2023 hunting season!




GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Fiocchi's New Duck Busters

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Migration Strike

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Enhancing the Hunt: Skip Knowles and Tetra Hearing's Game-Changing Products

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

The Goose Factory

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Heyday Outdoor - HydroFoam Diver Duck Decoys Review & Field Test

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Learn

Why You Suck at Shooting….and How to Fix Your Faults

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Remington Gun Club Cure Shotshells

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

B&P Ammunition

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Browning Maxus 2 Wicked Wing

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Gear

Why You Should Be Using Confidence Decoys for Duck Hunting

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Learn

Exercise-Induced Heat-Related Illness

Adding honker floaters in your duck decoy spread can greatly add to your success.
Learn

Using Goose Floaters for Duck Hunting

Wildfowl Magazine Covers Print and Tablet Versions

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Digital Now Included!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services

PREVIEW THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Buy Digital Single Issues

Magazine App Logo

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get the Wildfowl App apple store google play store

Other Magazines

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

See All Special Interest Magazines

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Get the top Wildfowl stories delivered right to your inbox.

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All Wildfowl subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Enjoying What You're Reading?

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.

Offer only for new subscribers.

Subscribe Now

Never Miss a Thing.

Get the Newsletter

Get the top Wildfowl stories delivered right to your inbox.

By signing up, I acknowledge that my email address is valid, and have read and accept the Terms of Use