A man who found six different birds dead along Oliver roadside is hoping he didn’t discover a canary in the coal mine.
For around 20 years, Stefan Cieslik has been walking the same route twice each day.
“It’s about the equivalent to a couple city blocks, around the Fairview Road, Rock Cliff area,” he said.
Because he was so familiar with the area, Cieslik had a tough time last week ignoring the significant number of lifeless birds.
“It is an anomaly to see so many dead birds by the side of the road,” he said.
Cieslik especially found it strange how the birds were of different species, having noticed a quail, a magpie, a starling and a flicker.
Years ago when precautions were being taken against the West Nile Virus, the public was warned about dead birds being an indication of infection.
“But I never noticed any more dead birds than normal around that time.”
He consulted the website for Nature Canada, which provides guidelines for the proper disposal and reporting of dead birds.
Nature Canada advises dead corvids (such as the magpie Cieslik found) should be directly reported to the nearest Regional Health Authority for West Nile Virus surveillance.
When concerns of West Nile Virus were more prevalent in years past, the dead bird surveillance program was established as a reporting protocol, though it has since been discontinued.
Cieslik learned the surveillance program had folded after contacting the BC Centre for Disease Control, where he was directed towards the Wild Bird Mortality Investigation program, which offers advise to those with concerns on how to properly dispose of and report dead bird carcasses.
To conduct a thorough investigation, the Wild Bird Mortality Investigation program requires all dead birds to be in good diagnostic condition (little decomposition or scavenging). Anybody coming in contact with a dead bird is advised to use common sense sanitary precautions and avoid direct contact with the carcass.
Carcasses should be covered by at least two plastic bags, labelled with the date and location of death, and kept in a low-temperature environment until further communication with a Wildlife Agency.
Following contact, hands should be washed with soapy water for at least 20 seconds.
It’s still a mystery to Cieslik why so many dead birds were found in such a brief timeframe, but he recalls songbirds being much more plentiful in the South Okanagan before pesticide use became rampant, and wonders if some birds are struggling to adapt to new agricultural practices, or perhaps local birds are passing around a common disease.
For those who stumble upon a dead bird and would like to issue a report, learn which steps to take next by visiting tinyurl.com/h3w2mvo.
By Dan Walton
