Avian Influenza....

[Calibogue]

So, who has found dead summerducks and what county?
There are reports from different areas of the state and some birds have been tested.
It is expected to get worse.

[JABIII]

Don't be biting those heads, boys...

[Rubberhead*]

Funny that I had a guy call me last evening. He was holding a bluewing hen that he picked up swimming in circles.

[willk]

In ND this year, we had a golden eye swimming to our spread this year and started doing The Little Death Circle. That's the only thing that we can come up with is that it had the bird flu.

[Carolina Counsel]

I hunted Bear Island last Saturday. They are testing all of the harvested birds and said that several from earlier this season tested positive.

[Catdaddy]

I think this is the reason behind the decline in certain species.

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[cpp4720]

Haven’t seen any yet this year in the Tx panhandle but last year we saw quite a few. I didn’t see any ducks that appeared ill but the snow geese took it on the chin. Several times we hunted different plya lakes and had snows walk around the bank and up to the blind. Those lakes were all within 15 miles of each other so it must’ve been semi isolated. The dog enjoyed catching ‘em….


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[Calibogue]

It wasn't isolated, last year and this year in Arkansas there were dead snows laying all over the place

[cpp4720]

It wasn't isolated, last year and this year in Arkansas there were dead snows laying all over the place

I meant isolated in this area. Those couple of lakes had several 100 sick birds. Outside of that circle I didn’t see any that looked/acted sick.


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[HEAD]

I’ve seen one in Williamsburg county I suspect had it…didn’t fly until the dogs cornered it and got about 5 feet away

[bitesize]

Saw two teal crash land into a pond on Tuesday. At the time was perplexed at how that would happen- maybe I now have an answer!

[Rubberhead*]

I got this from a DNR employee...I think they're coming out with a press release soon...

We have had a number of calls trickle in over the last two weeks related to pond owners finding dead or disoriented wood ducks as you have described. Most likely these are cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Given the highly social nature of Wood Ducks, we suspect that there are other die-off events that have just not been reported to USDA or DNR. We are working very closely with USDA Wildlife Disease Services (WDS) on tracking these die-off events.

At this point we have submitted samples from 3 different sites. The first site sampled was found to be “presumed positive” for HPAI. Those samples have been sent to a second wildlife disease laboratory to be confirmed positive. I suspect the samples from the other two sites will be presumed positive as well. Under the advisement of Wildlife Disease Services, we are going to pause submitting additional samples until we have the results from the remain two sites. If those come back presumed positive, we will halt sampling at that point.

If you hear of other die-off events, I recommend that individuals finding dead wood ducks or other waterfowl (10 or more) in their waterfowl impoundments call the main office to notify DNR (803-734-3886) or USDA Wildlife Services (803-786-9455). Folks may need to leave a voicemail given the holidays. While we will not sample every reporting it is still valuable to know where these die-offs are occurring and to what extent. We are specifically interested in location, number of individuals effected, species, and habitat type. If you can get me this information, I would greatly appreciate it. It will be helpful in tracking HPAI with the State Veterinarian and WDS.

The next step would be for the owner/finder to remove any dead waterfowl they find and bury those carcasses. I typically collect birds in a trash bag, then bury the entire bag. This is important because birds of prey or other scavengers can ingest those infected birds and can subsequently become infected with HPAI. Burying the carcasses helps lessen the spread to other birds. After folks have been in an impoundment where HPAI is suspected, folks should disinfect their boots or waders having been in the pond with those birds. Use a solution such as Pine-Sol or diluted bleach (4 oz to a gallon of water). Also disinfect whatever container, tools, or truck beds that dead birds have been placed on. There is a great concern for HPAI getting into domestic folks of chickens and turkeys. Folks that work with domestic folks should be well versed in biosecurity measures, but the steps above can help hunters reduce the opportunity for transfer to other areas.

HPAI was first detected in the US from hunter harvested birds that were sampled in SC in January of 2022. While portions of the US have reported large die-offs of Snow Geese and some Eiders, we have not experienced large scale die-offs of many waterfowl yet in SC. Reported wood duck die-offs are not something we have experienced until this year. Since 2022, the greatest impact in SC has been on Black Vultures and Bald Eagles. HPAI is not a SC centric issue, as it is spread across the US.

I would continue to hunting. Hunter harvested birds are safe for consumption, just be sure to prepare them properly. Human infections with HPAI are rare and cases have only been reported in people in close contact with infected domestic birds. For those hunting with dogs, there is little concern for transfer of HPAI to the dog, however that can still occur. In cases where the dog has contracted HPAI, the dog has eaten a dead, infected bird. I am still hunting my dogs, I’m just being cognizant to take birds from the dog quickly. Don’t allow them to ingest any birds. A dog with good bird manners should be just fine.

[Palmetto Bug]

I wonder if the bird flu has or will impact doves too?

[BigBrother]

Wonder if it has anything to do with all the tamie operations....

[cpp4720]

Wonder if it has anything to do with all the tamie operations....

I think those are vaccinated at weaning….


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[BigBrother]

I think those are vaccinated at weaning….


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At least there will be receipts proving it...

[OliverHarrelson]

Found a dead wood duck in one of my ponds yesterday. Williamsburg county

[Redleg Camo]

This little blue bird was acting strange today. Couldn’t get airborne. I picked it up to investigate but didn’t see anything. Then I see this thread. Clarendon county. …


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[thunderchicken]

I know of 2 significant kills. 1 in Clarendon and 1 in Williamsburg Counties. Over 50 birds in each. Primarily wood ducks.

[BOGSTER]

Confirmed from several Clarendon County properties.
One property on Edisto, one in Ridgeland, and one in Bowman.