A Long Island beachside community in Suffolk County is worried about dozens of dead birds that have washed up on the shore and been found in backyards, especially because officials believe the birds died from avian flu.
Patchogue Shores in East Patchogue has a private community beach. Earlier this week, Tim Jones, the vice president of their association, was walking along the beach with his family when he noticed many dead birds.
“I saw three seagulls, a cormorant, and I got a count of 11 ducks,” explained Jones.
NBC New York walked with him and saw a dead gull, a dead goose bobbing in the water and various other smaller birds strewn along the small stretch of sand.
Jones contacted the Department of Environmental Conservation. The DEC said it appeared to be avian flu because there have been cases in Suffolk County and Nassau County before. Officials from the department urged the community to close the beach to avoid any contact with the dead birds.
While bird-to-human transmission has been extremely low, the avian flu can be spread by direct contact through saliva, secretions and feces. It can also be spread through viral particles in the air and consumption of raw food and milk.
Earlier this month, bird flu was detected at Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue. The farms owner forced to euthanize nearly a 100,000 ducks.
Residents of Patchogue Shores are staying away from the beach for now, hoping the issue will be resolved as the weather gets warmer.
“It’s very frightening, obviously, and I’m not quite sure what we can do about it at this point, other than to stay away,” said resident Janet Bondy, “But that becomes very difficult if you live down here.”
“It’s upsetting because people enjoy this. This is the one place where everybody who lives here enjoys, it’s something to have special, private, and it’s sad,” added Jones.
The DEC says the wind may have brought the influx of dead birds to shore. While they are assessing the reports, they may decide to collect some bird specimens for testing.
