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A Red-Breasted Merganser, which Comeau described as, “A sea bird that rarely leaves the water to come to land.”<\/p>\n
\u201cThey released the advisory Jan. 12, it\u2019s recent, and they\u2019re urging residents to stay alert, to report them,\u201d Comeau said. \u201cThey\u2019re saying to avoid contact, to not touch sick or even dead birds. Some birds will just be listless, not able to fly, not able to walk. Some birds have just been standing in peoples\u2019 driveways, just standing\u2026They say that the human risk remains low, but caution, of course, is necessary whenever you\u2019re around wildlife.\u201d <\/p>\n
For now, humans are advised against touching, feeding or eating birds afflicted with the avian flu. For Long Islanders who need to move dead birds, proper protection, including gloves and masks, is advised<\/a>. <\/p>\n As for what kind of bird is being most seriously affected, Comeau said ducks, geese and other waterfowl are at the center of the outbreak. <\/p>\n \u201cIn this time of year we have the winter waterfowl, the ducks and geese,\u201d Comeau said. \u201cWhen all the fresh water ices over, they all come out to Long Island to the sea coast, because it\u2019s the only place they continue to get the aquatic plants or the fish, worms, marine species that they need to eat. When all the fresh water freezes, they come to Long Island for the winter.\u201d <\/p>\n In a Thursday morning conversation, Comeau identified one of the dead birds Choban had seen as a loon, noting the bird\u2019s back-facing feet that make it hard for loons to walk on land and impossible for them to take off without a long enough stretch of water. In addition to waterfowl, Comeau said corvids and raptors are at risk from the flu, noting that raptors eat some of the waterfowl and can contract the disease that way. The avian flu, he said, has been confirmed in local foxes, skunks and raccoons, but he hasn\u2019t seen any instances of it being passed to marine species. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s Island-wide, from Breezy Point to Montauk Point. It\u2019s my opinion that Long Island is the epicenter, just because we have the winter waterfowl, the rest of New York really doesn\u2019t have that sea coast like we do.\u201d<\/p>\n Choban also wondered if recent mild winters might have exacerbated the birds\u2019 condition, noting that this January was colder and snowier than most in recent years. <\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve had very mild winters up until now. So, I don’t know if they were like, \u2018You know what? I’m gonna save the gas and just hang out.\u2019\u201d Choban said. \u201cI don’t know, but climate change is real, and it’s in our face, and it’s not being addressed at all. And these guys are suffering. These poor things, they look like they were beaten to death.\u201d <\/p>\n The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<\/a> says that European-Lineage HPAI was introduced to North America in 2021, and has been severely damaging to both domesticated and wild bird populations, causing, \u201cextensive morbidity and mortality events in a range of wild bird species.\u201d <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/bird-6.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
(Elaine Choban) A loon, found in the sand in Long Beach this week<\/p>\n