There were some infected petrels here at Hawks Nest. The dog has sniffed a few wings and things on the beach and is still kicking.
Some years the beach is a black blanket of dying mutton bird as they get tired on migration and retire.

the most worried are the wing foilers... 😀

Got bird Flu at Portland now as well

KJ said..
Got bird Flu at Portland now as well

They are coming for us.

What I don't understand about the bird flu is why we didn't get it sooner through the north of the continent. I can understand that birds that migrate all the way from the Arctic to Australia might drop dead on the way but there must be birds that just spend their time in the tropics, that flit between islands and end up in Australia.

Mark _australia said..
Oh look if it gets worse we are all on half price roast chooken from Woolies.

Given the egg prices I have seen in the US when travelling there in Dezember 24 / January 25 with massive amounts of chicken being culled I would say enjoy eggs while it lasts. We paid US$16 for a dozen eggs while there. 😱

KJ said..
oh thats not good. I wonder too Kato how it will affect sailors using the lake. It's been a bit gross the last few years due to the water level (even a dead roo close to a smooth spot), so i wonder how it will compare to all the other nasties that are in the water?

Probably be no water latest pic looks grim

There has been a good bit of rain over the last month and week. Any firsthand reports of the water level?

Not so good on the bird flu front. Portland /Port fairy and a mass mortality event at Cape Jaffa in SA (not far from LG)

In Warrnambool we had a dead seal pup wash up on a beach. Suspected to have died from H5 (being tested, yet to be confirmed.

The sub antarctic islands had about 75% of the seal pups die, approx 13,000.

The Gov has put out a species risk list.

www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/invasive-species/diseases-fungi-and-parasites/birdflu/understanding-risk

A bit scary if you are a chook farmer. It also jumped to Dairy cows in the US, severely affecting milk production and affecting farm workers. If this occurs big impact to the SW Vic / SE SA dairy industry

Might be needing bird fin instead of a weed fin at LG this year (i hope not)

If this bird flu is killing a lot of the apex predators, I'm wondering what that's doing for fish populations. I asked ChatGPT but it couldn't tell me.

Rango said..

A dead seagull made 7news on Penguin island.It was declared negative.

"A Phillip Island penguin has died from H5N1 bird flu days after the government pledged thousands of vaccinations to protect Victoria’s at-risk population."

Had 7 of these washed up last week on a small patch of beach at the end of Gorman's lane (between Warrnambool and Port Fairy - Western Vic)

Mark _australia said..
Oh look if it gets worse we are all on half price roast chooken from Woolies.
im far more concerned about our mouse plague that is roughly 10x the mice per hectare than needed to declare plague.


And a little fertiliser shortage and diesel shortage at seeding time. Massive reduction in grain crop means less feed for all farmed animals as well as the primary use for us. But the news are picking up on a handful of petrels as it’s easier to scare people with bird flu than mouse plague.
quick buy dunny paper 🙄

Very true Mark, but they’re talking of mass deaths of black swans 99% and 60% of seals. Couple that with SA,s algae deaths, it just might tip a lot of other species to the brink.

KJ said..
Most of you might have seen it on the news last night - about 200 dead birds have washed up on Portland's beach's over the last week.

The spit at LG might be an interesting sight, the S&SE will wash all the carcasses up on there. Looks like I won't be launching from there

Yep….. this is just the start. Word from the experts is that year 3 is worse than the first wave of the disease. I hope that our experience is better than overseas.

KJ said..
The spit at LG might be an interesting sight, the S&SE will wash all the carcasses up on there. Looks like I won't be launching from there

Lots of animals die in the water at LG, or sht in it. The whole place smells like duck sht TBH. And it's not the stinkiest spot. Point is, I would not think about it too much. I think you're pretty close to LG ?. Woolabooral ?. I reckon just go there.

Yes, the algae is gone, but still having impact. For those interested, a bloom tracker:

h ttps://sa-algal-bloom.streamlit.app/

There's other flat/weedy spots in SA. So, not the end of the world.

If you're going to get Ebola KJ, you would've got it by now 😂. Sail it and enjoy it. See you when I see you.

kato said..
And yes it can be transmitted to us humans. I guess it’s watch this space.

If that is the case, then we're all fcked anyway. My suburb is over run with bird life. During the algae bloom, there were 100's of dead marine animals washed up from my account. Species I never knew we had. The scientists said that was the tip of the iceberg. Most people abide by the health advice and stayed away from the beaches. But tell that to Windsurfers, Kitersurfers and the Dingers who were wind deprived. Last year was a sht year for wind. So, I found myself totally ignoring that advice, and sailing in the green water with the dead fish floating on the water, and washed up. Some riders said they suffered asthma like symptoms. I'm not saying you're wrong, and your concern should be not be considered. But I'm totally not bothered. We speed sailors sail in some pretty rancid sht. I sink in mud on a small lake nobody sails on, and I think how many geological periods is my foot going into ?. Who would do that ?. Only us. The only other sport I can think of that does that is those cave divers that swim in dishwater. Who knows the ancient pathogens in those waters. Nightcliff Gardener's Disease springs to mind.