Worst is yet to come for birds as virus brings 'distressing scenes' to Norfolk

Hundreds of thousands of chickens, geese and turkeys have had to be slaughtered following outbreaks on farms across the county, where a control zone has been declared.

Now the RSPB says the virus is bringing "distressing scenes" to the countryside, with dead swans and other birds being seen in numbers from the Broads to the beaches of north Norfolk.

Thousands of turkeys have been culled after a series of bird flu outbreaks in Norfolk and Suffolk (Image: (C) ARCHANT NORFOLK 2015)

Rare terns which nest on the coast have already been decimated. As winter migration to our shores gets under way, there are fears waterfowl and waders which flock together could speed up the spread of the virus through internationally-important rare species and iconic birds of prey.

Katie-Jo Luxton from the RSPB (Image: RSPB)

Katie-Jo Luxton, the RSPB’s executive director for global conservation, said: "With wintering birds joining our shores in the coming months, we suspect that winter will be really tough on our wild birds, with sadly the worst yet to come.

"With so much at stake, and so many other pressures on our wild birds already, the avian flu response so far from Defra has been insufficient.

A sandwich tern pair feeding a chick on the nest - the birds have bred at Minsmere for the first time since 1978. Picture: CHRIS GOMERSALL (Image: � RSPB-IMAGES AND ITS IMAGE CONTRIBUTORS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This image is protected by international copyright laws and dist)

"We are urging the government to respond to this crisis with the true urgency needed as scenes like this are not only distressing but continue to be of concern as the UK’s worst outbreak takes hold across the country.”

The Norfolk Wildlife Trust said: "We are seeing an increasing number of deceased wild birds we believe to have been affected by avian flu on our nature reserves in the Norfolk Broads and on the north Norfolk coast. Species affected include swans, sandwich terns, gannets and herring gull.

“This is of real concern. Wildlife across the board is struggling and this is yet another pressure for our birds to contend with, so it's crucial we do all we can to minimise the spread of the disease by following advice provided by Defra."

Scolt Head Island, where it is easy to get cut of by the tide (Image: Archant Library)

Natural England has already said the scale of mortality is "unprecedented" among wild birds.

Summer reserve warden Neil Lawton found more than 800 dead sandwich terns on the Scolt Head Island nature reserve during the birds' breeding season.

Up to 85pc of chicks fledged at the reserve perished, along with up to 15pc of the adult population in Norfolk.

Knots swirl above the mud flats as the tide turns in The Wash (Image: Natural England)

Terns build nests in colonies in close proximity to each other. Experts believe the flu spreads most rapidly among species which flock together or those which scavenge.

That leaves skeins of geese and dense gatherings of waders, such as those seen on The Wash. to red kites, marsh harriers and buzzards vulnerable to infection.

Dead birds have already been seen in numbers on parts of the Broads.

The sun shines on the River Bure in Wroxham ahead of the expected heatwave (Image: Brittany Woodman/ Archant)

Ryan Jones, marketing manager for the Herbert Woods boatyard at Potter Heigham, said: "It's a horrendous situation but we don't feed the birds around the marina and we don't encourage our customers to."

A worker at one boatyard on the Bure in Wroxham said: "People have been reporting dead birds. We've been telling people to stay away from the birds and not to feed them."

Another said she had reported dead birds to Defra but nobody had been to collect the carcases, although Defra say this is the responsibility of the local authority.

A greylag goose at Cley Marshes. Picture: David Thacker (Image: (c) copyright citizenside.com)

Defra figures for birds found dead which have tested positive for the virus include reports from West Norfolk council of four individuals, including sandwich tern and black-headed gull in July, a sandwich tern in June and four birds including greylag goose and whooper swan in January.

No other Norfolk authorities feature - suggesting testing is not being carried out because birds are not being collected to take samples from.

Ms Luxton said: “Avian flu is sadly still affecting wild and domestic bird populations, causing distressing scenes across our countryside.

A sign on the Norfolk coast warning of a bird flu outbreak in the area earlier this year (Image: Chris Bishop)

"Since this outbreak began, the RSPB has been advocating for the creation of a specific taskforce to manage and mitigate the impacts on wild birds, led by Defra.

"With so much at stake, and so many other pressures on our wild birds already, the avian flu response so far from Defra has been insufficient."

In a statement, Defra said it had "set out practical guidance to support land managers, the public and ornithological and environmental organisations in their response to the growing threat of avian influenza to wild birds".

It said this included monitoring the spread of the disease so it could be better understood.

Shooting season begins

(Picture: Andrew Mutimer) (Image: (c) copyright citizenside.com)

The Countryside Alliance said the shooting season had got under way as normal on October 1.

Its shooting campaign manager James Aris said: "Given the rise in reported cases we have advised all shoots to continue to follow good practice and have appropriate biosecurity measures in place, regardless of whether they are currently in a designated protection zone.

"All those involved on a shoot day, whether they be guns, keepers or beaters are out in the field every day and can frequently be the first to identify cases of avian influenza in wild birds.

"It is therefore essential that everyone remains vigilant in order to help prevent further spread of the disease."