Avian 'flu

[chrisb]

Has anyone else been affected by this?
Of the fifteen pairs of house sparrows that usually inhabit our eaves, only one pair has returned after heading for the fields in August /September.
There is only a solitary Wood pigeon in the trees around us when there used to be twenty or so.
It has gone eerily quiet in the morning as evenings as well.
I never expected to miss the bloody sparrows!

[JasonM]

I think we’ve been ok in Cambs from what I can see, I have a regular group of about 10 sparrows that come en mass to the table, it’s lovely to see them, same for pigeons and doves and starlings, blue tits seem to be in short supply in recent years but had a couple visit a few days ago.

[walkerwek1958]

I get far too many pigeons in the garden owing to the proximity of tall trees which they seem to like, they shit all over the lawn and patio on a daily basis in summer, hopefully avian flu will cull the buggers.

[chrisb]

I get far too many pigeons in the garden owing to the proximity of tall trees which they seem to like, they shit all over the lawn and patio on a daily basis in summer, hopefully avian flu will cull the buggers.

Be careful of what you wish for.
In this corner of Cheshire, it's like a desert.

[chrisparker]

Local farm stopped selling eggs, I guess this is the cause.

[higham5]

Signs on all major access roads around us , advising entering a “disease control zone” . Feels like foot and mouth all over again.

[gerard]

We've been in a zone since April/May (small break over summer) and have a duck factory in the village. As far as I am aware they have not closed. The sparrows are still chirping, robins in the garden, tits on the feeders being threatened by magpies. Geese are migrating through. We have probably been lucky. This is not to say species haven't been affected.

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[Tooks]

The geese, turkey and poultry farm just outside our village was hit by avian flu about 10 weeks before Christmas, everything culled over the subsequent couple of weeks, devastating loss for the farmer and everybody employed there.

Can’t restock for effectively 15-18 months now, so they’ll miss out on two Christmas trading periods. They might not be able to keep going at all.

We had a visit from some Defra people a few days after the outbreak, very friendly people and were checking we had our few chickens in a pen and under cover. They also left us some forms should we need to transport them or the eggs!

The local wild bird population does seem to be suffering as well, more than the usual dead geese etc at the local lake, and might just be imagining it but garden birds seem fewer in number as well.

[Toad monitor]

I get far too many pigeons in the garden owing to the proximity of tall trees which they seem to like, they shit all over the lawn and patio on a daily basis in summer, hopefully avian flu will cull the buggers.

Maybe they think/know you are a miserable old bast*rd.

[Middo]

I live near to Martin Mere bird sanctuary and they are really worried about it. The farmers field still seems busy and there have been geese recently gathering.