An Uneasiness

Lately my visits to Sweet Marsh have come with trepidation - what might I see, how bad will it be - a person just does not know when an illness outbreak is occurring within wild populations.

Since we are in the second week of the shotgun deer hunting season I am opting to stay off the dikes as much as possible. Without going on the dikes, my only option to check the status of the waterfowl outbreak is to fly my drone out to the “death zone.” Actually, by using the drone a clearer view of the extent of the outbreak is provided. It just seems we have either wind, rain/drizzle/ice, or fog to contend with when I want to fly. Still, aerial observations have been possible for the past few days, including today.

When I checked this morning I found many more dead or dying Canada geese. No dead or dying trumpeter swans or ducks were found today. So far, the eagles and crows continue to feed on the dead geese, but I have not found any affected birds of prey or crows. Maybe they will avoid the illness or maybe the symptoms are not showing yet. Or maybe they fly off somewhere and their diet becomes lethal.

For this situation, time will tell.

FYI - I am hearing reports about dead or dying Canada geese elsewhere in our area. This outbreak is not exclusive to Sweet Marsh. Let’s hope it remains only a wild bird problem and does not impact commercial or backyard poultry flocks.

Click on this link to view the video from this morning:

Sweet Marsh Waterfowl Update - No Dead Swans Yet

Following are images from this morning. Notice the dead or dying birds among the “apparently healthy” birds.