200 Birds Found Dead Near Barrington Amid Avian Flu Outbreak

BARRINGTON, IL — More than 200 dead birds have been discovered at Baker’s Lake over the past week in what county officials are calling the worst outbreak of the avian flu they’ve seen in years in Cook County.

A spokeswoman for the Forest Preserves of Cook County confirmed that 200 double-crested cormorants were found dead at the property in recent days. Seven of the birds were sent to the University of Illinois for testing, which determined they had died as part of the outbreak of the H5 avian flu.

The testing began after forest preserve biologists began finding the birds around the Baker’s Lake area about April 6. Officials have monitored other forest preserve areas around the county, the spokeswoman said, but no traces of the avian flu have been found in those areas.

Many native and migratory birds nest and feed at Baker’s Lake, including at an island rookery. Because of the nature of the local bird population, the avian flu impact to date has only been observed among waterfowl and water birds, the spokeswoman told Patch in an email Thursday.

Because perching birds such as songbirds, sparrows and finches have not been affected, the forest district does not recommend the removal of bird feeders to limit the transmission of the disease.

“I’ve never seen anything like this since I started working here 41 years ago,” biologist Chris Anchor told the Tribune. “Chances are this is happening in other places, and we’re not aware of it because no one is looking.”

Officials said that nationwide, more than 23 million birds have been destroyed to control the avian flu outbreak, which is the largest of its kind since 2015, when more than 50 million birds were destroyed. The outbreak is driving up the prices of eggs and chicken.

The outbreak was first detected in Illinois in Will County in March when three Canada geese were found to be infected. Several local zoos in the Chicago area have moved their birds inside to avoid exposing them to the outbreak of the avian flu, the Tribune reported.

The Emiquon Preserve, located on the Illinois River in Fulton County, also announced last month that it was closed to the public after a preliminary analysis found that bird flu was likely present in a dead snow goose on the property. The preserve reopened about 10 days later.

The outbreak is concentrated mainly in the Eastern and Central United States, but cases have been reported in the Dakotas and Wyoming as the bird flu makes its way west, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the H5 bird flu virus poses a low risk to the public. Visitors to the Cook County forest preserves should not touch or interact with a sick or dead bird, or any animal. Anyone who sees more than one dead bird at a location is asked to notify the forest district at ResourceManagement.FPCC@cookcountyil.gov.