Burr Ridge residents Linda and Russell Meyers were out on their daily coffee run Friday when something strange caught their eye in Hinsdale — a bald eagle standing by the curb, its head drooping.
“We like to go around different areas, and all of a sudden we just saw this bird in the street,” Linda Meyers said. “I did a double take, but it did not look well, so that was cause for concern, and we decided to call somebody.”
She said they stopped and sat on Madison Street, north of Ogden Avenue, with the eagle for about a half hour after putting out the call for help. The raptor twice found enough energy to briefly fly, the second time into a wooded area where it was later found and captured by handlers from Midwest Bird Collision Monitors.
“It definitely was having trouble flying, and I knew it was something neurological, which is a sign of bird flu,” Meyers said. “I wasn’t surprised to find out that was what it was.”
The following day, the eagle was euthanized at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center after it was suspected of being infected with bird flu, according to Beth Schirott, a spokeswoman for the Forest Preserve District.
“We knew before it ever got here that it was very likely bird flu, based on the clinical signs,” said Sarah Reich, head veterinarian for the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center, previously known as the Willowbrook Wildlife Center.
Reich said bird flu was first reported in the United States at the end of 2021, but instances of infection are on the rise in the area.
“It pops up and goes away,” she said. “This variant seems to be a little more aggressive. The risk for human infection is considered low, but we recommend that people don’t touch animals that may have this. It’s hard for people not to rescue birds in distress, but we suggest that they just walk away.”
Reich said bird flu is spread by particles, meaning someone doesn’t have to actually touch an infected animal to be exposed.
This variant of bird flu, a highly pathogenic avian influenza also known as HPAI and H5N1, has been spreading across the country. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources in late December indicated it is “monitoring a large event of waterfowl mortality at numerous locations throughout Illinois.”
The variant has been positively identified in multiple bird species in Illinois, according to information from the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. District officials are alarmed enough to have implemented precautions. For one, the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center has stopped accepting waterfowl or other aquatic birds for any treatment.
“Our highest priority is the safety of our staff, volunteers, patients and resident animals,” Reich said.
While low pathogenicity avian influenza circulates naturally and is routinely found in wild waterfowl and shorebird populations, such as geese, ducks, and gulls, which generally do not show any significant signs of disease, highly pathogenic avian influenza is similar to the human influenza virus, or flu. And like human flu, it’s hard to stay ahead of.
“It changes every year, requiring a different vaccine,” Reich said.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza can infect domestic poultry, resulting in high sickness and death rates, officials said, and in this current outbreak, cattle, cats and other mammals also are susceptible.
Spread to humans is unlikely but still possible, officials said. Clinical signs can include mild flu-like symptoms, such as fever and upper respiratory signs, to severe respiratory disease or pneumonia. People with close and prolonged exposure to infected birds are at much higher risk, including those who work in wildlife rehabilitation centers or farms.
The DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center is urging people to not feed waterfowl or aquatic birds, but songbirds are considered low-risk, so they aren’t yet recommending removal of backyard feeders.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is monitoring the progression of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Instances of five or more dead or dying birds in one location within a 24-hour period can be reported to the IDNR biologists at https://wildlifeillinois.org/idnr-district-wildlife-biologist/.
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
