Avian flu has killed over 300 geese, other wild birds in Michigan, state says

• State officials suspect bird flu has killed more than 300 wild birds in five Michigan counties so far this year
• The virus is now widespread in the state’s wild flocks
• Experts don’t expect the die-offs to measurably impact waterfowl populations — but eagles might be another story

Hundreds of wild geese have recently dropped dead in lower Michigan, and scientists suspect bird flu is to blame.

Officials with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources say carcasses are headed to a federal lab for confirmatory testing, after preliminary results indicated that the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus killed 300 birds across five counties early this year.

That includes: 

• 77 Canada geese and one mallard at the Allegan State Game Area in Allegan County
• More than 80 geese along the Shiawassee River near Owosso
• 25 geese at Williamston Lakes in Ingham County
• 20 birds along the Grand River in Grand Ledge
• 100 birds in Washtenaw County 

Samples from several of those die-offs were sent to the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostics Laboratory in East Lansing, where preliminary test results pointed to bird flu. A US Department of Agriculture lab in Iowa will conduct follow-up testing.

Related:

• Michigan farms must provide milk samples on request to test for bird flu virus
• Nation’s third human bird flu case detected in Michigan
• Wash your hands: Highly contagious bird flu reaches Michigan wild flocks

State officials first detected HPAI in Michigan’s wild bird population in 2022, and it has since become widespread. In addition to the suspected cases responsible for the recent mass die-offs, officials have confirmed bird flu in wild flocks from six Lower Peninsula counties this year.

The virus has also swept through commercial and backyard flocks, killing 147 million birds and causing a spike in egg prices. It has also spread to mammals such as dairy cows and cats.

The highly-contagious respiratory disease spreads through the saliva and waste of infected birds, and humans can contract it through their eyes, nose, mouth or inhalation. Typical patients are people who have been in close contact with infected animals. Two Michigan farmworkers were infected last year. 

Health officials say the risk to the public remains low. Still: 

“The best advice we can give is to treat every wild bird as though it has a disease,” said Mitch Marcus, DNR Wildlife Health supervisor. “If you find a dead wild bird, you should leave it alone.”

Don’t touch dead wild birds. Wash your hands. Clean backyard bird feeders with a bleach-water solution every two weeks. Owners of backyard and commercial flocks and herds should follow state guidance to prevent and respond to outbreaks.

State officials ask anyone who observes a die-off of six or more birds to report the incident here.

DNR officials don’t expect the disease’s spread to have serious impacts on the statewide waterfowl population. But they’re concerned it could kill enough eagles, cormorants and other colony nesting birds to have a noticeable impact.