Oregon Officials: Do Not Touch Waterfowl Due to Bird Flu, That Includes Coastlines

Published 01/25/25 at 6:26 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – While the risk of exposure to humans is very low, Oregon coast officials are not taking chances when it comes bird / avian flu (H5N1 or HPAI). Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has already urged the public to not touch waterfowl, and now that message has been echoed on the coastline. (Newport: Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

Haystack Rock Awareness Program (HRAP) in Cannon Beach issued a caution message recently on social, saying “report – don't rescue” when it comes to any birds on the beaches.

“If you see see sick or injured birds, do not handle them yourself,” HRAP said.

You should contact HRAP, ODFW (866-968-2600), or the Wildlife Center of the North Coast (503-338-0331). Also see Wildlife.Health@odfw.oregon.gov. HRAP asked you to call and report any unusual bird behaviors.

Oregon Health Authority website

The disease has started to cross species, with one person in Oregon getting bird flu and an outdoor cat, among other waterfowl. Its spread among waterfowl is serious enough that even the Wildlife Center of the North Coast (WCNC) has stopped accepting birds of any kind there. You can still call to report bird issues, however.

On the coast, you should not be feeding gulls in the first place – for various sanitation reasons and because human food is not good for them. However, HRAP said that is doubly important now.

“No feeding wildlife: Feeding can increase disease spread and harm birds’ natural foraging behaviors,” they said.

HRAP is concerned about the shorebirds of the Cannon Beach area, which are somewhat integral to tourism there.

Seaside Aquarium photo

“Haystack Rock is home to thousands of seabirds like puffins, gulls, and cormorants - all crucial to our coastal ecosystem,” the group said. “Protecting their health ensures a balanced environment for years to come.”

According to ODFW, HAPAI was initially detected in Oregon in May of 2022, less than six months after first being found in North America.

“Unlike previous outbreaks of HPAI in 2005 and 2014-15, this specific strain of the virus (H5N1) did not disappear by the following spring,” ODFW said. “The H5N1 strain continues to change and circulate in wild birds and is also infecting backyard poultry flocks, dairy herds and other livestock including pigs in Oregon. It has also infected farm workers in 14 states. “

In this state it has affected geese the most, but it has afflicted shorebirds and spread to 20 different mammal species like coyotes and foxes. It has even spread to some forms of river otter and dolphins off America's coastline but not in the Northwest.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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