Hundreds of ducks infected with avian influenza — H5N1 bird flu — have been found along the shores of Lake Michigan in the Chicago area, prompting warnings from area health officials.
The Chicago Bird Collision Monitors (CBCM), a volunteer conservation project dedicated to the protection of migratory birds, said in a post on its Facebook page Sunday that the bird flu outbreak “is posing a serious threat to the bird life in the Chicago region this winter.”
The outbreak started in December and has now spread from a few reports in the suburbs to hundreds in the city, along Lake Michigan, over the last week. Birds affected include geese, hawks, owls, at least one eagle and ducks.