Hundreds of Birds Die in Martha’s Vineyard; Has This Been Caused by Bird Flu That Also Spread Fast in Scotland in Early June?

Hundreds of dead birds have recently been washing up on an island, and this, according to reports, is usually not depicting a good sign, Forbes report said.

This has been occurring on an island in Massachusetts called Martha's Vineyard, and this fowl occurrence's cause may be "highly pathogenic avian influenza or HPAI.

Most dead birds have been aquatic birds, also known as cormorants. Even though such a site can be worrying, there is no need to panic, assuming one does not have wings, feathers, or a beak.

In general, the danger of humans contracting infection with the spreading HPAI variant still appears relatively low as long as reasonable precautions are maintained.

This means canceling any bird raves scheduled. This means if people are in the habit of touching dead birds, it would be a good idea to look for another habit.

Warning on Facebook

According to a Facebook post from the officials at the Tisbury Animal Control, a report from The Independent said, "This is extremely dangerous to us as a small island."

The agency also urged the public to inform their local ACO "if they find any dead birds. The sad Facebook post served as a warning before highlighting that avian influenza has yet to be verified on the island. However, hundreds of cormorants killed have washed up all over the island.

The hundreds of bird deaths have been reportedly sent to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife for testing to examine the said deaths more extensively.

The scenarios at Martha's Vineyard continue what has been a challenging year for those who have been winging it.

Bird Flu in Scotland

The local animal control emphasizes their post to exert caution when residents encounter any of the said dead birds, emphasizing that people need to avoid "touching the birds at all costs."

In the said Facebook post, the northeastern island community officials point to the highly infectious avian bird flu strain that has recently been verified in Scotland and has been wiping out thousands of birds across the nation.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in Scotland released a warning in early June that prompted the Scottish government to urgently create a response plan to deal with the thousands of birds that have been infected with HPAI.

The seabirds in Scotland are already experiencing multiple severed pressures produced by humans - climate change, shortages in prey fish, invasive species brought to islands, poorly sited wind turbines, and mortality in fishing gear.

A report from The Herald specified that species that have thus far been greatly affected by the Scottish outbreak include great skua colonies in areas like Shetland, Orkney, the Western Isle, and Fair Isle.

In response, a Scottish government representative told the media organization that the past winter has seen the most massive outbreak of avian flu in the United Kingdom and that this impacted both domestic and wild species in the country.

A report about the recent dead birds is shown on WCVB Channel 5 Boston's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Bird Flu in Science Times.