Advocates take action to protect birds from avian flu

This is a bad year to be a bird. And particularly so for rare and endangered species.

With the 2025 spring migration in full swing, a deadly strain of bird flu known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or HPIA, is ramping up, and that has Litchfield County conservation and rehabilitation centers, as well as state and federal wildlife experts, on high alert.

As the deadly virus hitches a ride with migratory birds, disease is spread through droppings along their seasonal travels. Raptors tend to get infected by consuming sick prey, while waterfowl risk exposure from other birds or the ingestion of virus shed in water.

While most bird populations can survive bird flu’s devastating impact, rare and endangered birds face a threat to the long-term survival of their species.

Logan Connor knows that well. He’s the director of aviculture at the Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy in Litchfield, a conservation breeding facility which focuses on maintaining genetic diversity for responsible introduction into the wild.

Connor, a Litchfield County native and third-generation bird breeder, is responsible for the well-being of one of the largest collections of rare and endangered waterfowl in North America: 90 species totaling more than 600 birds from around the world.

He is currently working in tandem with a team of state and federal scientific advisors, including epidemiologists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s wildlife division.

“At this time, we are following all regulations given to us by the state and USDA and are constantly monitoring how the disease is progressing in order to keep our birds safe,” Connor said.

That includes “strict biosecurity measures” including donning personal protective equipment, or PPE, when working with the birds, limiting vehicle access to the site, asking visitors if they raise chickens or have recently visited a park around wild geese, and requiring visitors to dip their shoes into a sanitizing agent before entering the grounds.

“We want them to leave whatever they have at the door,” he said, referring to potential contaminants.

Despite best efforts, there is only so much that can be done to protect the open bird habitats from bird droppings, including partial netting, but that does not cover the vast grounds or the waterbodies.

“We are not in a major flyway, so we don’t have the influx of waterfowl like they do on the coast,” the aviculture director said. “But we do have swans that are not under netting so there is a risk. All it takes is one bird coming in contact with the disease to infect a waterbody.”

To limit avian visitors, staff alternates feeding schedules so non-resident birds, including wild mallards from nearby Bantam Lake, don’t get into the habit of free meals. They are staging harmless scare tactics, such as ballons, kites and lights on timers, to frighten the birds away. At one time, an estimated 200 wild mallards “came in to eat the feed … now it’s just a handful,” Connor said.

Still, the threat of devastating consequences looms large.

“There are 600 birds that we have here. If one was ever to test positive, we’d have major, major issues on our hands,” said Connor. “We are working with birds that have some of the most important bloodlines/genetics. The loss of the birds would be bad for the long-term survival of the species.”

This white-headed duck at the Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy in Litchfield has an endangered conservation status. Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy

‘There is always a risk’

At the Sharon Audubon Center, which is home to the center’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, raptor aviaries are home to several rescued birds of prey, including Lia, a 20-plus-year-old bald eagle that suffered severe wing fractures, and Norabo, a turkey vulture which has been cared for at Sharon Audubon for a few years and likes to show off his impressive wing span to visitors.

“The challenge here is that we are next to a lake,” which attracts waterfowl to the area, explained Sunny Kellner, Sharon Audubon’s wildlife rehabilitation manager.

As if on cue, a wild raven flew by overhead, but kept its distance from the center’s aviaries, which are partially protected from the elements and the droppings of birds from above.

“There is always a risk to provide them with the necessary exposure to the elements that they need,” said Kellner.

Since the beginning of the first major outbreak of H5N1 in the United States in 2021, Sharon Audubon has instituted strict biosecurity protocols for the care of its resident education birds that were developed in accordance with guidelines and in collaboration with fellow rehabilitators and renowned wildlife veterinarians, Kellner said.

“We continue to follow CDC guidelines and state guidelines provided by DEEP regarding the handling of rehabilitation birds in our wildlife clinic, the protection of our resident education birds and personnel, and providing advice to the public who may find sick and injured birds,” she said.

“We haven’t seen the virus here yet, although there have been a few potential cases, but we’ve been instructed by DEEP not to take them in if they are showing avian flu symptoms.”

Because Sharon Audubon has such a small rehabilitation clinic, it is unable to quarantine higher risk patients, Kellner explained. And because symptoms of bird flu often mirror symptoms of head trauma, she noted, diagnosis is “not always cut and dry.”

As a result, “We have made the difficult decision to focus the majority of our rehabilitation efforts on our niche species of songbirds and refer most waterfowl and bird of prey patients to licensed rehabilitators who are currently equipped to meet those quarantine requirements.”

Some bird populations can endure large die-offs

Min T. Huag is the migratory bird program leader for DEEP. He has been assisting Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy, and other bird rescue groups, including Sharon Audubon, in the fight against bird flu.

The effects, at the population level, on waterfowl do not seem to be of major concern, said Haug.

“Hundreds of birds may succumb at one site and if you total all of the incidents across the country, there may be tens of thousands that are detected dead. However, for most wild waterfowl species, their populations can endure those types of losses,” the DEEP biologist said.

“Different story for some long-lived, low-fecund species, such as the common eider, should an HPAI event wipe out several nesting colonies,” he said. “With regards to places such as the Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy, yes, they should be and are worried about HPAI.”

The common eider is classified as “Near Threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which indicates that the species is not currently endangered but faces a high risk of becoming threatened due to increasing predation pressure from white-tailed eagles and its reduced biological capacity to reproduce.

Ripley, Haug said, “does what it can to exclude wild birds from its grounds. That is the best they can do. And it is possible because much of their area is netted.”

He further noted that it is potentially possible to keep avian influenza out of aviaries and zoos that are cordoned off.

“However, in the wild, there is very little we can do to stop the spread of HPAI through wild birds. It is something that has evolved with the birds and will continue to evolve over time.”

A bleak outlook for fall

Brace for an even more difficult fall, and not just for birds, warned Haug.

“Avian influenza is an influenza virus and they mutate all the time, that is their evolutionary strategy and why you need a different flu shot every year,” said Haug.Plus, the influenza viruses thrive better in colder weather.

If there is one saving grace for Ripley’s birds, noted Connor, it is that the conservancy grounds are not open to the public in the winter.

Researchers, said Haug, fear that avian flu could eventually jump from birds to humans.

“All of the historic pandemic level flu events that killed millions of humans originated as an animal flu and then mutated,” the DEEP wildlife biologist explained. “So, yes, researchers are concerned, because that is the nature of influenza viruses. They mutate and adapt to different species.”