Bird flu is killing an alarming number of bald eagles and other wild birds, with many sick birds arriving at rehabilitation centers unsteady on their talons and unable to fly.
“It’s quite a sight to see an eagle with a six-foot wingspan having uncontrollable seizures because of highly pathogenic avian influenza,” said Victoria Hall, executive director of the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center. “At that point, they’re so far into the disease there’s no treatment options left.”
The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center also collects data from wildlife officials on suspected and confirmed bird flu deaths. It lists 8,536 recent wild bird deaths from avian influenza. “We are seeing a tremendous impact from this virus,” said Hall, whose Raptor Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, treats roughly 1,000 birds a year. “We are seeing birds coming in suffering from this virus every single day.”
USDA officials haven't responded to questions about why they are excluding the data from rehabilitation centers. Gibbs and Poulson said they fear the virus could survive the summer, when it usually dies off, leading to fall infections when migratory birds return south. That happened in Europe, where the virus is circulating first.
In Georgia, where three bald eagles that died tested positive for bird flu, the state Department of Natural Resources has documented a sharp drop in bald eagle reproduction this year in six coastal counties where many migratory birds spend the winter. Fewer than half of the 73 nests found there produced offspring, while nests elsewhere in the state had a success rate close to the average of 78% recorded in recent years.
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