Bird Flu Takes a Toll: Wild Waterfowl Die Across the East End

Last year, Crescent Duck Farm on the North Fork was hit by a devastating outbreak of avian influenza and had to cull its entire flock of Pekin ducks. The farm is now rebuilding its stock. But the latest strain of the disease, known as H5N1, is back. It’s now raging through its fourth winter season and is proving deadly to a broad swath of wild birds. This year, it's wild waterfowl — especially Canada geese — that are catching bird flu in large numbers, sparking fears that the disease could decimate bald eagles and other birds of prey that feed on dead waterfowl. Recently, East Hampton Town oversaw the cleanup of 675 dead geese and ducks that were thought to have succumbed to the flu in and around Georgica Pond. This week, the editors are joined by senior reporter Michael Wright and Kathleen Mulcahy, director of the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays, and Kevin Hynes, director of wildlife health for New York State DEC, to talk about the situation.