AVIAN FLU – LATEST UPDATE
Since the 14 July, members of the Field Club have been recording the number of dead seabirds on our beaches. These figures will be updated on a weekly basis, and will be passed onto the relevant agencies – DEFRA, Nature Scot and RSPB. The raw data will be published in due course; the latest summary can be found here.
Gannets and guillemots have been particularly hard hit, probably due to their habit of nesting in closely packed communities. Remember, if you do see dead or dying birds please do not touch them, but report the findings to DEFRA (see below).
You may have read or heard in the news that Avian Flu (bird flu) is currently having a devastating impact on wild bird populations in Scotland. There are also now presumed cases of the virus in Northern Ireland, Wales and England.
Rather than try to write another overview of the current situation the following extracts from a recent Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) update might help us understand the severity of this unprecedented outbreak.
What is Avian Flu and how is it affecting birds?
“Avian Flu, or bird flu, is an infectious disease which spreads from bird to bird through contact with infected saliva and droppings. There have been several outbreaks of Avian Flu in the UK in recent years, but the vast majority have been in domestic poultry farms.
This latest series of outbreaks is unprecedented – the largest ever in the UK – and it seems to be affecting many types of bird. There have been reports of widespread deaths of great skuas on Shetland, Fair Isle, Orkney, the Western Isles, Handa, the Flannan Isles and St Kilda. Gannets have been hit at some of their key colonies, including Noss in Shetland, Troup Head in Northeast Scotland and Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth. There are also reports of sandwich and Arctic terns dying as well as numbers of guillemots at a colony on the Mull of Galloway.
This follows the severe outbreak on the Solway Firth earlier in the year where more than 4,000 barnacle geese died. These geese, which migrate from Svalbard in arctic Norway, were seen falling from the sky in distress and lines of dead birds were washed up on beaches.”
What does this mean for our seabirds?
“Britain’s seabird populations are of global significance. For example, the UK is home to 56% of the world’s gannet population and Scotland has 60% of the world’s great skuas.
These and other seabirds are already under massive pressure from climate change, lack of prey fish, deaths through entanglement in fishing gear and developments along our coasts. The impact of avian flu could hit them particularly hard as seabirds tend to live for a long time and take longer to reach breeding age. They also usually have fewer chicks.
This means deaths from avian flu could further decrease declining numbers and that any recovery from the disease would take far longer.”
This outbreak has now led to the temporary closure of several seabird reserves around the country. These closures are intended to reduce disturbance to breeding birds at this time and also minimise the spread of the virus.
What can we do?
At the time of writing (early July 2022) we are not seeing large numbers of sick or dead birds washing up around the coast of Assynt.
Please follow the current advice, and if you find any dead seabirds, waterfowl (swans, ducks, geese), or birds of prey, please report them to the Defra helpline on 03459 335577.
DO NOT touch any sick or dead birds. At this time bird rescue centres may be reluctant to take in ‘sick’ birds, from the above groups. Please do check though.
If you have a dog and are walking in an area which is thought to have cases of avian flu, it is best to keep it on a lead. This will reduce the risk of the dog and you coming into contact with the disease.
This current outbreak is also killing high numbers of buzzards and some other raptors, mainly those that feed on carrion. However, the virus has been found in kestrel and tawny owl (both take live mammal prey) indicating that there are other pathways of transmission which are not yet fully understood.
It is worth being aware that if you do find a dead raptor in suspicious circumstances, then it is again advised not to touch it as it may be a crime scene or be toxic from poisoning. Take photos and notes and inform the local Wildlife Crime Officer at Police Scotland immediately on 101.
Update 1 October 2022 (from our Facebook page 29 Sept 2022)
BIRD FLU
Remember the headlines back in July about the Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that was having a devastating impact on seabirds all around the UK?
Well it hasn’t gone away despite the lack of recent headlines!
The Field Club are continuing to count dead and dying birds washing up on several of Assynt’s beaches. Once again, we would point out that we cannot state that any of the birds we are seeing have died of HPAI.
Of course, if you check the UK Government’s own pages about the situation there have still not been any cases in this area. On their Animal & Plant Health Agency map it’s the same three dots on the west coast that have been there since we started counting dead birds washing ashore. That was on 14th July. As far as we know none of Assynt’s dead birds have been collected for testing.
Clashnessie
Yesterday Clashnessie beach was checked. It was like a battlefield with bird remains from one end to the other. We counted 20 birds in total. Again, we realise there had been a bit of weather the past few days which always takes its toll on seabirds.
However, if you look at our photograph (photo 2) from yesterday it’s clear that many of these birds had been dead for more than three days. So, it is very likely that they have been simply floating off shore and the recent N-NW winds have pushed them ashore. Several boat operators have stated over the months that there are lots of dead birds floating around.
This sad photograph shows the Clashnessie birds from yesterday: 8 Gannets; 2 Guillemot; 1 Razorbill; 1 Little Auk; 1 Great Skua; 4 Fulmar; and 3 gull species.
Please keep in mind that the wild bird population is not the cause of HPAI, that lies a lot closer to home!
DH