Staying Vigilant

Today we hear about the possible new Avian flu threat reaching our shores from the rest of Europe. The Trust as always will be keeping a vigilant watch on our Wild birds - currently in a very healthy condition on our River.

The Migrations from Scandinavia, Russia and the Baltic states are a concern at this time of year. We usually get some Pintail and Tufted Ducks arriving when the hard weather strikes.

Most of the Geese have already arrived here some time ago,  but people should keep a watchful eye for any dead or dying birds and report them to the authorities. DEFRA advice -   " Wild bird surveillance activity in Great Britain has been increased. If poultry keepers or the general public find dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks) or gulls, or five or more dead wild birds of other species in the same location, they should report them to the Defra helpline. 03459 33 55 77. UK only. "

DEFRA  also states - "Since 3 November, highly pathogenic avian influenza of subtype H5N8 has been found in dead wild birds in Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. These outbreaks have affected various wild bird species, including Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), gull species, wild geese, wild swans and various other wild waterfowl and raptors."

Hopefully we will avoid any outbreaks here, currently there are no cases in the UK.