OWATONNA, Minn. – Southern Minnesota has been particularly hard hit bird flu this season.
Hundreds of Canada geese have been found dead in the southeastern cities of Owatonna, Albert Lea, Waseca and others.
Owatonna’s Morehouse Park attracts all kinds of visitors year-round, including waterfowl such as ducks and geese. But this winter a large number of birds there contracted bird flu.
Jeanine Vorland is a wildlife manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, covering a six-county area on the southern edge of the state.
“This was the most extensive we’ve seen in this particular area,” Vorland said.
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She says the increase in bird flu cases started in early December and continued into early January, leading to an alarming death rate.
“The Albert Lea area was particularly hard hit,” she said. “In my area there were probably several hundred deaths.”
She said visitors should not approach birds suspected of having bird flu. But if people see five or more dead birds together, the DNR wants to know. Vorland says bald eagles have contracted the deadly flu in recent years by eating infected goose carcasses.
There are also concerns that some bird species – such as trumpeter swans, which are endangered and have made a comeback – could face a setback if their numbers are hit hard by bird flu.
The DNR will continue to monitor the birds closely, hoping this season’s fatalities will not harm future populations.
“This winter’s outbreak was certainly one of the largest waterfowl deaths I have ever seen,” she said.
Although cases of humans contracting bird flu from birds are rare, the DNR recommends not feeding the waterfowl.
This was announced earlier this week more than $1 million in Minnesota Lottery proceeds will go to bird flu research.
Johannes Lauritsen
