Northampton Borough on Thursday closed Canal Street Park as a precaution after dead geese were found there, amid growing bird flu fears across the region.
Borough officials received reports of the dead fowl earlier this week, Borough Manager Brian Welsko told lehighvalleylive.com. The public works director spotted more Thursday, and officials decided to close the park.
Officials posted details of the closure to the borough’s website, northamptonboro.com, and set up signs and barricades at the park.
The closure will remain in place indefinitely to protect other animals and the public, Welsko said.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission sent a team Thursday to Northampton to assist, according to Welsko. Commission officials were not immediately available to provide further information.
An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the United States began in January 2022 and has impacted wild and domestic birds in every state.
The Game Commission in December investigated the deaths of around 400 snow geese at a quarry in Lower Nazareth Township. That marked the third suspected instance of bird flu fatalities that month in the Lehigh Valley.
“There were two other cases in Northampton County (one Dec. 8 in Forks Township and one Dec. 9 in Lower Nazareth Township), each involving a single snow goose that has preliminarily tested positive for HPAI,” Game Commission spokesman Travis Lau told lehighvalleylive.com at the time.
Officials at Merrill Creek Reservoir, a popular spot for fishing and hiking in New Jersey’s Warren County, confirmed bird flu in several dead snow geese found there in December, as well.
In recent days, more than 1,100 dead or sick wild birds were reported to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, according to a department spokeswoman.
Pennsylvania residents who encounter sick or dead wild birds can report them to the Game Commission at 833-742-9453 (833-PGC-WILD). Sick or dead domestic birds should be reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture at 717-772-2852.
New Jersey officials ask residents to report sightings of sick or dead birds, particularly in groups of five or more, through a new wild bird disease reporting form.