A bald eagle on Long Island with suspected avian flu was euthanized and wildlife consultants concern it is a signal of an outbreak to return.
The eagle was recovered by wildlife rescuers in Southaven Park in Shirley. Karen Hill Maloney referred to as Raymond Kopeck, a skilled falconer, to help.
“It was up in the tree squawking a bit and as we approached it tried to fly away,” mentioned Kopeck. “However when it did, it instantly crashed to the bottom, it couldn’t fly.”
It took greater than two hours for them to get the eagle right into a automobile and drove it to the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Middle, the place director Chris Strub knew the chicken was in bother.
“From the screechy voice, to the seizures he was having,” Strub mentioned, “we knew this was an advanced infection and he was not going to pull through.”
The eagle needed to be euthanized. Strub says that is the sixth chicken that has been delivered to the middle with indicators of Avian flu. Exams are pending to substantiate that’s what the eagle died from.
“This particular strain is a lot more virulent for birds so they can catch it from each other a lot more easily,” mentioned Strub, “Which means if we have suspected cases in the wild we just have to be very vigilant.”
Strub fears he’s witnessing the beginning of a wave of flu circumstances, which may very well be an issue for the multitude of birds he helps right here on the sanctuary.
The Division of Environmental Conservation instructed NBC New York in a press release that they’re “working cooperatively with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (AGM) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the agencies leading the joint Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) incident response, as well as the State Department of Health and Cornell University.”
There’s a widespread extremely pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak throughout North America in wild and home birds. It began in late 2021.
Here’s a present checklist of circumstances in Suffolk County:
| Kind of Hen: | HPAI confirmations Suffolk County, 2022-2023: |
| Bald eagle | 2 |
| Snow goose | 1 |
| Widespread loon | 1 |
| Sanderling | 2 |
| Mute Swan | 1 |
| Pink-tailed Hawk | 1 |
| Herring Gull | 1 |
| Ring-necked pheasant | 4 (sport farm secapes |
| Nice Horned Owl | 3 |
| Nice Black-Backed Gull | 1 |
Listed below are the numbers for Nassau County:
| Kind of Hen: | HPAI confirmations in adjoining Nassau County, 2022-2023: |
| Pink-tailed Hawk | 2 |
| Black Skimmer | 1 |
| Canada Goose | 3 |
| Mute Swan | 1 |
“For chickens this strain is incredibly deadly, they basically have no chance,” mentioned Strub. “If they catch it, it will pass through the whole flock.”
DEC requests the general public report sick or lifeless waterfowl, shorebirds, gulls and raptors to a neighborhood Regional workplace in order that occurrences to HPAI may very well be tracked.