The Division for Surroundings, Meals and Rural Affairs has printed optimistic circumstances of chook flu for every week for the reason that final two weeks of December 2016. These figures was up to date weekly however giant gaps at the moment are showing between updates – click on right here.
Optimistic circumstances are lifeless birds despatched in to the authorities in every of the 4 UK nations. These won’t be an unbiased pattern of species as a result of at numerous occasions the related authorities have made it clear that they’re notably concerned with sure teams of species (eg raptors, waterfowl) and that could be why such species are strongly represented within the lists under. Massive and conspicuous species are additionally overrepresented within the lists under. There are different points with the dataset however this degree of openness permits us to see which species of ‘wild chook’ have examined optimistic in every calendar yr.
I’ve merely checklist, initially for my very own curiosity, all of the species which examined optimistic within the UK annually from the present yr again to 2017. The earliest yr a species seems within the lists is in pink sort. A complete of 87 species have examined positively for chook flu on this virtually 9-year interval.
2025 (up to now), 45 species: Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Bewick’s Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Barnacle Goose, Shelduck, Mallard, Eider, White-tailed Eagle, Purple Kite, Buzzard, Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, Curlew, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Nice Black-backed Gull, Frequent Gull, Kittiwake, Little Gull, Sandwich Tern, Arctic Tern, Frequent Tern, Roseate Tern, Gannet, Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, Cormorant, Razorbill, Guillemot, Puffin, Barn Owl, Lengthy-eared Owl, Tawny Owl, Gray Heron, Pheasant, Greenfinch and Starling.
2024, 21 species: Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, White-tailed Eagle, Purple Kite, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, Nice Skua, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Nice Black-backed Gull, Frequent Gull, Gannet, Fulmar, Cormorant, Barn Owl, Pheasant.
2023, 46 species: Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Barnacle Goose, Mallard, Teal, Purple Kite, Buzzard, Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, Merlin, Ringed Plover, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Nice Black-backed Gull, Frequent Gull, Kittiwake, Sandwich Tern, Arctic Tern, Frequent Tern, Roseate Tern, Little Tern, Gannet, Fulmar, Cormorant, Shag, Razorbill, Guillemot, Puffin, Moorhen, Coot, Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Gray Heron, Purple Grouse, Pheasant, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Reed Warbler.
2022, 65 species: Nice Northern Diver, Purple-throated Diver, Nice Crested Grebe, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Black Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Pink-footed Goose, White-fronted Goose, Barnacle Goose, Purple-breasted Goose, Mallard, Gadwall, Pintail, Tufted Duck, Goosander, Eider, White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Osprey, Hen Harrier, Purple Kite, Buzzard, Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Nice Skua, Lengthy-tailed Skua, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Nice Black-backed Gull, Frequent Gull, Kittiwake, Sandwich Tern, Arctic Tern, Frequent Tern, Roseate Tern, Gannet, Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, Cormorant, Razorbill, Guillemot, Puffin, Moorhen, Coot, Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Gray Heron, Little Egret, Nice Egret, Pheasant, Purple-legged Partridge, Nice Noticed Woodpecker, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Blackbird, Pied Wagtail.
2021, 25 species: Nice Crested Grebe, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Black Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Barnacle Goose, Mallard, Wigeon, White-tailed Eagle, Purple Kite, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, Lapwing, Curlew, Purple Knot, Nice Skua, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Gray Heron, Pheasant, Rook.
2020, 19 species: Little Grebe, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Black Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Barnacle Goose, Brent Goose, Wigeon, Shelduck, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Gray Heron, Nice Egret.
2019: None.
2018, 15 species: Nice Crested Grebe, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Buzzard, Goshawk, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Nice Black-backed Gull, Frequent Gull, Moorhen, Pheasant.
2017 (and final two weeks of 2016) 14 species: Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, White-fronted Goose, Wigeon, Teal, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Buzzard, Peregrine, Kestrel, Black-headed Gull, Cormorant.
What can we make of this? Properly, not a lot because the pattern is biased, for positive. And never a lot as a result of we don’t know what number of birds have been examined and have been unfavourable for chook flu. For instance, just one Blackbird has examined optimistic for chook flu over this era – is that one out of hundreds of Blackbirds examined or the one Blackbird examined? I’d like to know the proportion of birds, for every species which examined optimistic and the pattern measurement.
However at a quite simple degree we are able to see that though chook flu has receded within the headlines it hasn’t gone away. 2025 has seen many species affected together with some new species.
From 2016 to 2021 avian flu was primarily a winter illness (you possibly can see that from the extra detailed data on the Defra web site) however in 2022 it broke via in an enormous manner into the chook breeding season and had main impacts on many colonial seabird species. 2023 noticed heaps extra deaths from chook flu however then issues gave the impression to be calming down in 2024. This yr has already proven that there’s loads of chook flu swishing round on the market.
I’m wondering what the long run will maintain – we aren’t carried out with this but, I concern.
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