MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota is asking people to not fill bird feeders or birdbaths to help stop the spread of bird flu this spring.
In a post on Facebook, The Raptor Center’s Executive Director and Veterinary Epidemiologist, Dr. Victoria Hall urged the public to do everything they can to help prevent the gathering of songbirds.
Hall says the country is facing an unprecedented outbreak of avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds. While most research about bird flu’s effects centers around waterfowl, shorebirds and seabirds, since they are the birds that most often survive the illness, the Raptor Center is concerned about the virus’ effect on raptors as they often die from the virus."During these unprecedented times, we recommend doing anything that we can to try and help our wild bird populations.
Because the science is unclear on the role of songbirds in this current H5N1 outbreak, one consideration is to not encourage birds to gather together at places such as bird feeders or birdbaths.