Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Suspected bird flu: Dozens and dozens of birds found dead at Highland beach

One of the many, many dead birds found on beaches near Golspie in the Highlands this summer amid bird flu outbreaks. Photo: Peter Stronach.
One of the many, many dead birds found on beaches near Golspie in the Highlands this summer amid bird flu outbreaks. Photo: Peter Stronach.

More than 70 birds from 17 species have been found dead or dying around a Highland nature reserve, and authorities suspect they contracted bird flu.

Birds of all kinds like pink-footed geese, eider ducks, cormorants, curlews and a puffin have been spotted lifeless or struggling around the shorelines of Littleferry and Loch Fleet, just south of Golspie.

Ecologist Peter Stronach found and catalogued the birds along a half-mile stretch of beach in just one evening.

Living birds found ‘diseased and distressed’

“It was grim,” he said.

“I came across a couple of dead male Eiders, and then I found one that wasn’t dead.

“It was trying to fly but it was going in circles in the stones, doing strange head movements – it was obviously diseased and distressed.”

The Aviemore-based specialist said the discovery brought the nature of the outbreak home to him.

“I hadn’t realised what range of species bird flu was getting into,” he said.

“It’s really scary and it’s hard to know where this is going to end and what effect it’s going to have on our bird population.”

‘We do not know why bird flu is acting differently’

Testing will be needed to confirm the cause but the RSBP is suspecting bird flu.

Robyn Stewart, one of the charity’s species and habitats officers, said the virus is ‘acting differently’.

She explained that a fast-spreading strain of the disease, called Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, which wiped out 38% of the Svalbard Barnacle Geese population on the Solway Firth in November, is continuing to spread.

Another of the dead species photographed by Peter Stronach.

Normally it only affects birds in the winter before petering out.

Robyn said: “To still be seeing the disease and dead birds at the start of breeding season, well that’s something we’ve not seen before and hazarding a guess as to why it is acting differently is difficult.”

The specialist said virologists were doing genetic sequencing to find out why the disease was more virulent.

She said the virus is thought to survive among carcasses, so if you had a gull that came down and scavenged on a bird that had died of bird flu then that bird would potentially be affected.

She added: “I can’t possibly put across how different and complicated this whole thing has been since it started.”

Nature Scot, which manages the Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve, said it is “extremely concerned” about the situation, and staff are on a close watch after cases of suspected bird flu at reserves across Scotland in the north Highlands, Northern Isles, north-east and Loch Leven.

What is the risk to human health?

In certain areas of the UK in the past, areas have been closed off due to bird flu fears.

Very few strains of avian influenza have been recorded as infecting humans.

Robyn said: “As a precaution, we would recommend people do not touch sick or injured or dead birds and they should keep their distance and their dogs should be kept under control, the best thing to do is leave the birds undisturbed and therefore not spreading the virus.”

What can I do?

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said that members of the public are responsible for the safe removal and disposal of dead wild birds if they find them in their own gardens.

And if a wild bird carcass is in a public place like a car park, it is the responsibility of the local council.

But the Scottish Government’s most recent advice for wild bird bodies found on farmland or public beaches is to leave the carcases where they are.

You can report dead wild birds to Defra on 03459 335577.

The UK Government publishes test results weekly which can be a useful way for members of the public to see if there are any cases locally.

You may also find these articles interesting:

Conversation