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Volunteers have recovered about 2,000 dead storks in recent days from a site near Berlin, a spot commonly favored by bird watchers after a serious outbreak of bird flu has hit migratory populations hard.
Linum, a small village located about an hour from the German capital, is famous for its nesting storks in summer and serves as an important resting place for thousands of storks during their seasonal migration between the Baltic, Nordic regions and Southern Europe.
However, this month, the journey of many of these majestic birds has ended tragically in the surrounding ponds and fields as well as in other affected areas across Germany.
The country has seen an unusually early and rapid outbreak of bird flu this year. Since the beginning of September, Germany’s national animal health authority, the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, has recorded 30 outbreaks in poultry farms. Cases have also been confirmed in wild birds in various parts of the country, leading to the precautionary culling of more than 500,000 chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys so far.
The majestic brown and white storks have been the center of unusual attention over the past week. It is not clear from where they were infected. Norbert Schneeweiss, an expert brandenburg The state environment office said such a serious impact of bird flu has not been seen before in cranes on this migration route, although there have been outbreaks in cranes Hungary Two years ago.
This week, volunteers wearing full-body protective overalls waded through the water and reeds outside Linam to load the limp, floating carcasses of the large birds into sacks.
Map of Linum:
A sick bird stood motionless on a nearby path, failing to fly away as people approached. Others were seen staggering and then falling. The still healthy birds flew overhead and pecked for food in the fields.
By Monday evening, volunteers had picked up 1,875 dead cranes and the number is expected to rise above 2,000 in the coming days.
“There’s not much else we can do here except collect birds,” Schneeweis said. He said experts have attempted to make the area less attractive to migratory birds, for example by limiting water flow to reduce the size of resting areas – but noted that “resting sites are rare”. Central Europe,
In earlier years, “We were happy with every crane – it was a natural sight with thousands of cranes flying every evening; there were lots of visitors,” he said. However, the usual guided tours for bird lovers have now been cancelled.
Schneeweis said the situation is currently under control locally, with the number of dead storks decreasing and no other wild birds showing symptoms yet.
Collecting birds is difficult and frustrating work. “We try to convince ourselves that we’re doing something good for conservation and that it’s important,” said volunteer Lara Weinman. “But of course, it affects you.”
Bird flu infection in humans is relatively rare. But as it affects other species, including some mammals, scientists fear the virus could evolve to spread more easily between people.