Mark Naniot does not have fond memories of 2022.
“Awful. In one simple word, it was awful,” said the Rehabilitation Director for Wild Instincts Wildlife Rehabilitation in Rhinelander.
That year was when bird flu hit wild species of birds particularly hard in the Northwoods.
“We spent pretty much our entire day in masks and gowns and goggles and gloves and things,” said Naniot. “We would get in these horrible cases, and of course, none of them survived it.”
Naniot says the worst part was seeing it spread to fox kits, which they didn’t know could get it at the time.
In recent weeks, there’s been reports in Wisconsin of waterfowl dying from avian influenza in St. Croix, Wood, Brown, Racine, Milwaukee, and Kenosha counties.
As waterbodies up north start to open up, Naniot is preparing for similar incidents up here.
“We can't say for sure, but as things are migrating through, you know, it's starting to move its way further north, so we're pretty sure that we're going to end up with it again this year,” said Naniot.
Wild Instincts is putting into place protocols to protect both people and wildlife.
Visitors aren’t allowed in the buildings. They’ll meet people in the parking lot for donations or to admit animals.
Their garage has also been converted into an avian admission area to help keep them separate from other species.
Naniot says they’re not restricting the kinds of wildlife they admit, and he hopes they can keep it that way.
“2022 there was a lot of rehab centers that shut down, mostly to like waterfowl, some of the more highly susceptible birds,” said Naniot. “We pretty much did our thing. We made sure we isolated everything, and we're super careful. We were lucky and did not spread it.”
This time around, Naniot is concerned that bird flu is reaching bird species that were previously unaffected, like Sandhill Cranes and mallards.
It’s also been spreading to cattle and people.
“That's a very alarming situation,” said Naniot.
Naniot says there are things people can do to help prevent it from spreading.
If you find a dead bird, Naniot urges people to be cautious saying the best thing to do is bury it or triple bag it and put it in the trash someplace nothing is going to get into.
The Wisconsin DNR says if you observe five or more sick or dead birds in one area, get in touch with the DNR Wildlife Switchboard by emailing DNRWildlifeSwitchboard@wisconsin.gov or calling 608-267-0866.
Naniot also encourages people to disinfect their shoes if they visit a marsh or area populated by a lot of birds, especially if you know there have been reports of avian flu in the area.
“Basically, all it takes is for a duck or a goose, or something like that, that has it to fly over, you step in the droppings. Now that's on the bottom of your shoe, and everywhere you're walking you're spreading that virus,” said Naniot.
Naniot says a lot of people ask them about bird feeders because you’re concentrating birds and things to an area.
There’s mixed messaging with some sources recommend stopping and others saying it’s okay.
Naniots best advice – stay informed.
“It's one of those situations, you know, keep a lookout in your area. Keep your eyes to the news. Find out if you're having things in your area,” said Naniot. “It may be something that you might want to think about and stop feeding the birds for a while if this does come back. That way we're not congregating the birds as much and making them quite as susceptible.”
