Searching for Bird Flu in ND

Wildlife officials want you...to help them locate sick birds. As the season nears for some birds...  More »

Wildlife officials want you...to help them locate sick birds. As the season nears for some birds to once again begin their migration north, officials are keeping a close eye on their behavior. But they say they can't do it alone. They need your help in spotting sick or even dead birds. Debbie Kuehn has more... Yes, it's been bitter... but if you look closely there are small signs spring is on the way. Every day, the sun peeks out from behind the eastern horizon a wee bit earlier... and drops behind the western one a wee bit later. Pretty soon we'll be towing the ice houses home, and listening for the tell-tale honking of one of nature's traffic jams. But this year, as the lofty nomads make their way north, wildlife officials are asking us to keep our eyes peeled... (Ryan Shively/ Audubon Bioilogist) - "Any help we c an get to help find these birds and get them sent into the lab will help the project a lot." They're searching for any signs of H5N1... the most severe form of the avian Flu. Shively says though the disease seems to have isolated itself across the ocean, there is reason to be concerned... (Ryan) "That's the biggest concern is that we're probably going to get the disease through a migratory bird coming across bringing it here." Hunters, landowners, birdwatchers and anyone else who may have the chance to observe waterfowl or shore birds are asked to report any dead birds or those displaying unusual behavior... (Ryan)-" One of the signs that they found in Europe was kind of swimming in circles... kind of dazed movement of the body.... hanging its head." Because the bitter truth is... the best time to handle an outbreak of the bird flu is before it happens. At the Audubon National Wildlife Refuge near Coleharbor, Debbie Kuehn KX News. The phone number for the Audubon Wildlife Refuge is area code 701- 442- 5474.  « Less