Other News
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Mar 11, 2024: Queers in Unexpected Places: Searching for (and Finding) Gender and Sexual Non-Conformity in the Rural and Early PNW
Mar 7, 2024: DRAFT Richardson Marsh Preserve Stewardship and Management Plan Now Open for Public Comment
Dec 5, 2023: County Council Member Jane Fuller and Senator Liz Lovelett to Host Public Meeting on Lopez
Nov 3, 2023: County and Town Send Open Letter to State Officials Regarding Impacts of Poor Ferry Service
Sep 29, 2023: Conservation Land Bank Announces Special Meeting to Discuss Watmough Bay Preserve Addition
Sep 14, 2023: The mobile dental van is coming to Lopez! // ¡La camioneta dental móvil ya llega a López!
Aug 22, 2023: San Juan County Adopts 32-Hour Work Week in the Name of Fiscal Health, Recruitment, and Islander Wellness
May 25, 2023: Recap of Lopez Neighborhood Meeting Regarding the Relocation of Public Works Facilities
May 23, 2023: District 3 Councilmember Jane Fuller Opens Office on Lopez and Hosts Community Conversation
Apr 17, 2023: Give Lopez Starts April 17th - A two week fundraiser benefiting 15 Lopez Island Non-Profits
Sep 22, 2022: Interim Watmough Preserve Addition Stewardship and Management Plan Now Open for Public Comment
Avian flu alert - please be watchful!
Jul 24, 2023
By Kwiaht
A significant mortality event last week among Caspian Terns at Rat Island near Port Townsend raises concerns about a possible late summer outbreak of avian flu (HPAI) in our area. Dozens of terns died, according to state biologists and local-area press reports.
Rat Island is part of Fort Flagler State Park and is about 25 miles from both the Skagit Flats and smaller wetlands in the San Juan Island where migratory waterfowl and seabirds nest and feed in summer. Caspian terns are often seen in Fisherman Bay on Lopez Island, near Eastsound and in False Bay, San Juan Island, where they interact with other migratory birds and resident shore birds such as Great Blue Herons feeding on small fish in shallow waters.
If you encounter a dead duck, goose, swan, tern, “sea duck†or other sea- or shorebird along a San Juan County shoreline, please contact info@kwiaht.org with location details and include a photo if possible. Do not handle the dead bird, but if feasible, cover it with whatever is at hand to deter scavengers. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has authorized Kwiaht to collect samples for testing, and dispose safely of bird carcasses.
In the event that you do come into contact with a dead tern or other sea- or shorebird, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly as soon as possible. Wash any clothing that may have come into contact with the carcass. Avian flu is highly contagious to domestic poultry, such as chickens or ducks, and can infect scavengers and bird predators such as eagles, hawks, vultures and owls as well as some mammals, although as yet human infections are extremely rare.
The current global outbreak of H5N1 avian flu has not affected songbirds, which are still nesting in our area. Fledglings are prone to accidents; if you find injured songbirds, please contact Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at 378-5000. Diseases of songbirds such as Salmonellosis are unrelated to avian flu, and are not transmitted between songbirds and waterfowl.
If you encounter a dead duck, goose, swan, tern, “sea duck†or other sea- or shorebird along a San Juan County shoreline, please contact info@kwiaht.org with location details and include a photo if possible. Do not handle the dead bird, but if feasible, cover it with whatever is at hand to deter scavengers. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has authorized Kwiaht to collect samples for testing, and dispose safely of bird carcasses.
In the event that you do come into contact with a dead tern or other sea- or shorebird, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly as soon as possible. Wash any clothing that may have come into contact with the carcass. Avian flu is highly contagious to domestic poultry, such as chickens or ducks, and can infect scavengers and bird predators such as eagles, hawks, vultures and owls as well as some mammals, although as yet human infections are extremely rare.
The current global outbreak of H5N1 avian flu has not affected songbirds, which are still nesting in our area. Fledglings are prone to accidents; if you find injured songbirds, please contact Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at 378-5000. Diseases of songbirds such as Salmonellosis are unrelated to avian flu, and are not transmitted between songbirds and waterfowl.
