In short:
Wildlife rescuers are increasing measures to prevent the potential spread of bird flu strain H5N1, which is yet to arrive in Australia.
Experts predict the virus could arrive with this year’s spring migration of seabirds.
What’s next?
Thousands of dead birds washing up on east coast beaches are being tested by the state government for precautionary early detection of H5N1.
Thousands of migratory seabirds have been discovered washed up dead or starving along beaches from North Queensland to Tasmania.
About 2,000 carcasses were found at one New South Wales beach this week, according to seabird research group Adrift Lab.
From October to November, migrating short-tailed shearwaters travel to their breeding sites along the Australian east coast from places like Siberia, Japan and South America.
Wildlife rescue volunteers say the looming threat of the lethal bird flu strain H5N1 is adding another layer of burden to the already busy period.
Belinda Donovan says wildlife rescuers are ramping up bird flu precautions. (ABC Illawarra: Romy Gilbert)
Licensed wildlife rescue volunteer and south coast refuge operator Belinda Donovan said the government had urged volunteers to take extra precautions with the rescue and removal of the birds.
“We don’t pick up birds without gloves, we wear gowns, and we use masks as precautionary measures,” she said.
The highly pathogenic avian influenza strain H5N1 is the deadliest strain of bird flu which is causing widespread mass mortality events globally in poultry, wild birds and mammals.
Australia is the only continent that remains free from H5N1, but experts predict it could arrive with this year’s migration of birds.
Ms Donovan has rescued 24 shearwaters this season, with all but one dying. (ABC Illawarra: Romy Gilbert)
Ms Donovan said volunteers from Wildlife Rescue South Coast had undertaken online meetings and bird flu training sessions with the Australian government.
“It’s new training so that we know within the [rescue] industry what our expectations are and that is obviously to ramp up PPE and basically send large groups of birds off for testing every month,” she said.
In a statement to the ABC, the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) said recent bird deaths were being reported to the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).
Citizen scientists from Queensland to Tasmania are documenting the mass mortality of migratory birds. (Supplied: Living Ocean)
“DPIRD is testing a subset of shearwaters found along NSW beaches for avian influenza, in addition to surveillance underway through the National Avian Influenza Wild Bird Surveillance Program,” the statement said.
“No notifiable diseases have been detected in birds found on NSW beaches to date.”
Why are the birds dying?
Marine scientist from research organisation Adrift Lab, Jennifer Laver, said hundreds of Australians were reporting bird deaths across more than 2,000 kilometres of coastline, revealing tens of thousands of deaths.
Dr Laver said Adrift Lab was undertaking a second year of citizen science-led data collection, which started after last year’s mass mortality event.
“We haven’t had any data on beached birds in Australia ever so this is the primary gap,” she said.
Short-tailed shearwaters migrate to Australia from the Northern Hemisphere. (Supplied: Living Ocean)
Dr Laver said global data revealed migratory sea and shore bird deaths were becoming “more frequent and larger in scale”.
“Last year was associated with a strong heatwave … this year there isn’t a heatwave but there is localised and global warming of the ocean,” she said.
Dr Laver said she was concerned about misinformation spreading on social media about the bird deaths.
“The misinformation we’re seeing that tens of thousands of long-lived shorebirds now dead across thousands of kilometres of coastline is ‘normal’ is incredibly incorrect,” she said.
But the NSW DCCEEW said in its statement that “sustained onshore winds are accentuating the annual, natural mortality of shearwaters”.
“During the migration, the birds endure storms, gales and food shortages [and] these exhausting journeys often mean many shearwaters die, sometimes washing up on beaches in large numbers.
“While confronting, this unfortunate event is a natural occurrence.”
Is Australia ready for H5N1?
Birdlife Australia chief executive Kate Millar has warned the nation is not prepared for the H5N1 virus to arrive.
She said she welcomed the federal government’s recent $95 million dollar package to prepare, but she believed there was a “long, long way to go to get all of that money flowing down to local communities” on the frontline.
“It’s important people understand this issue, understand what they are expected to do, know how to report and how to keep themselves safe,” she said.
“We’re urging [the government] to get out of meeting rooms and power point presentations and start rolling out really meaningful engagement and education for people on the ground.”
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