UPDATE: Bird Flu Spreading Once Again

As you have probably noticed, we’re only days into the year 2025, and already the news headlines seem to be filled with grim news. Unfortunately, that includes the place that many of us turn to get our minds off the rest of the world's problems, the duck blind. The reason? Avian Influenza—or H591, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or simply, the Bird Flu—just won’t go away. (Read more.)

That idea was driven home recently in northeast Louisiana, where WILDFOWL Editor Skip Knowles has seen it all firsthand, as he was recently hunting ducks with Winchester near Delhi in mid-December. While there, Knowles encountered a few scavenged dead snows, about seven in one rice paddy. Several others were spotted that were alive but could not fly, a clear sign of the bird flu.

During the same timeframe, early reports from the Kansas/Colorado border appeared with a few dozen affected birds spotted, and weeks later Knowles, hunting with friends in southeast Colorado, saw dozens and dozens on the shores of a large reservoir there.

“You could see 76 (dead birds) just from our duck blind,” he reported. “We bumped into several sick birds in the dark on the hike in that could not fly right. It was sickening, really sad. When a big windstorm struck from the west it was sucking dead birds out of the marsh by the dozens into the main lake. I suspect the dead snows were rafted thick on the far eastern shoreline.”

In both instances, Knowles noted that it did not seem to affect any other birds, and in Louisiana there were massive flocks of speckle-bellied geese all over, leading him to believe the number is probably in the thousands. 
But those aren’t the only two spots where Bird Flu continues to surface. One report coming out of Kansas said:
“Avian Flu has hit the snow geese again as in previous years, and there are large numbers of dead and dying geese around the lake. Do not touch these dead geese and it is encouraged to keep dogs away from them as well."
In the year’s first week, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has also confirmed the deaths of about 200 snow geese found last week in the Allentown region are from Avian Influenza. (Read more.)

"Dead birds were recovered from two sites, one in Lower Nazareth Township in Northampton County, and another in Upper Macungie Township in Lehigh County," notes the PGC news release. "Preliminary in-state testing indicated the presence of HPAI. While results are yet to be confirmed by the USDA, HPAI is presumed to be the cause of these mortality events.”

If that's the case, it's certainly feasible to believe that more deaths could lay ahead in Pennsylvania. In fact, the Commonwealth's natural resource agency gives a succinct report on why the pesky disease remains in the news.
"Wild waterfowl and shorebirds are considered natural reservoirs for avian influenza viruses," notes the PGC. "While infected birds may shed the virus in their feces and saliva despite appearing healthy, HPAI can lead to sickness or death in raptors, avian scavengers, other waterfowl species and wild poultry.”

The disease isn't confined to wild waterfowl—millions of domestic poultry have died after being infected, leading to supply problems and surging consumer prices for chicken fryers and eggs.
You might have noticed a common thread in all of these reports—many of the dead and dying birds seem to be light geese.

That often seems true with HPAI die-off reports, including one from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources after HPAI confirmations were announced following dead snow geese being discovered at Sloughs WMA in Henderson County near the banks of the Ohio River.

“Given the movement of migrating waterfowl and the seasonal patterns of wild birds, we anticipated seeing cases of HPAI,” said Dr. Christine Casey of the Kentucky DFW, about the bird flu discovery in the northern reaches of the Bluegrass State. (Read more.)

Again, while much of the evidence is anecdotal, snow geese certainly seem to be taking more of a hit from bird flu than other species.

“Since 2022, APHIS has reported H5N1 in approximately 9,500 wild birds, although many more have likely been affected,” noted an August 2024 report from Ducks Unlimited. (Read more.)

“The virus has been found in virtually all species of waterfowl, but illness and mortality have been particularly visible in snow, Ross’s, Canada, and cackling geese,” the report added. “First-year birds, which have not previously been exposed to the virus, may be most susceptible to infection, yet illness and death have also been reported in adult birds. Much remains to be learned about differences in disease susceptibility and severity across waterfowl species.

What is the current status for HPAI across the nation, at least in wild birds and waterfowl? According to the CDC as of Jan. 2, 2025, confirmed detections of the H591 HPAI are widespread in wild birds across the country, with confirmed detections being found in Kansas, California, Georgia, Iowa, Colorado, Texas, Michigan, Montana, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Indiana, Oregon, New Mexico, Nebraska among others. And with news of confirmed detections in Kentucky, Delaware, Pennsylvania. (Read more.)

In addition to snow geese, confirmed HPAI cases have also included such species as rock pigeons, white-winged and mourning doves, ring-necked ducks, green-winged teal, redheads, gadwalls, American wigeon, mallards, shovelers, red-breasted and common mergansers, Canada geese, and even pelicans and trumpeter swans.
While the CDC continues to report that the current risk to public health is low, and that there has been no person-to-person spread detected, there have been two severe cases of the bird flu confirmed in humans in recent weeks, one in the U.S. and the other in Canada.

Yet again, bird flu remains in the news as growing concern. But what should all of this mean to duck and goose hunters as the 2024-25 waterfowl seasons heads towards the finish line?
According to DU, one thing to remember is that to date, the risk of catching Avian Influenza from hunting ducks and geese is low. That being said, hunters and others who might prepare and cook wild ducks and geese are urged to follow safe food handling practices while remembering that the bird flu doesn't pose a food safety risk right now when wild waterfowl or domestic poultry products are handled and cooked properly.

Delta Waterfowl also opines on how waterfowlers should respond to bird flu, noting that, "This season and into the future, hunters should follow common-sense precautions while handling wild birds. Wash your hands after hunting, wear protective gloves while field dressing birds, don’t eat, drink, or smoke while handling birds, and sanitize game-processing areas."

The USFWS also urges hunters to report bird mortalities to state wildlife management officials immediately so that die-offs can be investigated and tested for avian influenza. (Read more.)

What about our duck dogs? In its late summer report, DU’s Dr. Mike Brasher and Nathan Ratchford summarized it in a single paragraph.

"As for our canine hunting companions, a recent study found that transmission to domestic dogs is possible but very rare," the pair noted. "Nevertheless, dogs should not be allowed to retrieve birds that appear sick or have been found dead. Hunters should also avoid feeding their dogs raw meat from harvested birds and prevent access to discarded carcasses."

As we push deeper into the New Year’s first month, don’t be surprised to keep hearing field reports like the one from WILDFOWL Editor Knowles, in addition to newspaper stories and TV news reports seeming to suggest that the sky is somehow falling because of bird flu.

While Avian Influenza remains a serious topic, thankfully, and so far at least, the sky remains firmly situated above as waterfowlers scan it anxiously, hoping for an inbound late season flock of greenheads and their wildfowl kin.

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