Wildlife official advises: Protect poultry flocks, do not touch sick water fowl

White geese call to one another continually as they move into the local corn fields to feed and back to Lovewell Lake to rest and roost. For local residents, they announce spring is close. Planting season is almost here.

But as the white goose population explodes and the area's water basin areas shrink, the migration potentially exposes the area poultry flocks to avian influenza.

Rob Unruh, Kansas wildlife specialist, askes area residents to not touch dead geese.

"We have had people wading the shallows at Lovewell Lake and throwing dead geese up on the bank," he said.

"Besides being illegal," he continued, "Avian influenza is highly transmissible."

Some strains of avian flu can pass to humans, but it is rare. It usually requires close contact between humans and infected birds.

Officials call it "Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). It is also referred to as bird flu.

There is fear avian flu will become a regular seasonal event. It has been detected in wild birds, domestic flocks and mammals.

Bird flu devastated Nebraska' poultry industry in 2022, with more than a dozen cases of commercial and backyard flocks in the state causing the loss of about 5.5 million chickens, the worst loss from Avian flu in Nebraska history.

Avian flu has led to higher egg and poultry prices during inflationary times.

Wildlife personnel are monitoring this year's migratory bird population for avian influenza. Part of the monitoring process includes watching for sick or dead birds.

According to law, only licensed wildlife rehabbers are allowed to transport orphaned eggs or nestlings, touch adults or young, or bring an injured bird home to help it.

Generally, eagles follow the waterfowl migration.

Unruh said, "I saw more eagles at Lovewell in December than I am seeing now. The water was open until Christmas and we had a good number of water fowl here. We had between 60 and 100 eagles, but the eagles have to be out there now."

Large flocks of white geese arrived at Lovewell earlier than usual this year. Sunday afternoon, the sky seemed filled with flocks of geese pushing north, flyin g so high they were barely visible to the naked eye.

Last week, Unruh was seeing a half million white geese at Lovewell, depending on the day. He expects more will follow.

"White geese winter in the gulf," he said. "They fly up the Mississippi River, then along the Missouri River and often feed and rest in the national wildlife reserves in the corner where Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri meet. From there they take a hard left and come to the water basins in our area. Here they rest, feed and fatten up to prepare for breeding. Then they push north against the snow line arriving at their Canadian breeding grounds just after the snow melts."