Avian botulism

I was alerted to this by a friend in an affected area.

BBC News - Botulism suspected after Boggart Hole Clough bird deaths

Has anyone else noticed dead ducks or geese on their waters?

Down here we don't seem to have a problem at all thankfully, or at least not yet anyway.

Added: Just found another report this time in Liverpool:

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/merseyside-parks-outbreak-avian-botulism-7544601

Not seen any where I've been fishing

in the last month I;ve fished 2 different lake in Notts, 1 in Derbyshire and 1 in Sheffield and no signs

Lord Paul of Sheffield said:

in the last month I;ve fished 2 different lake in Notts, 1 in Derbyshire and 1 in Sheffield and no signs

Click to expand...

It seems to be more prevalent further north and I'm told that some of the more northern waters of PAAS are affected too.

Guess I'd better respond to this eh Peter as the Clough is only about a mile and a half as the crow flies from where I live. The Clough also falls on our local park warden's patch as well, who I spoke to only yesterday about it. It has now been confirmed that it is AV by DEFRA. There are or was at the time I spoke to her, 6 sites in the NW where it's suspected to have broken out, two in Liverpool and the other 4 around the Gt. Manchester Area.

The advice being given is there's a very small risk to humans contracting it. Dogs should not be allowed off their leads where birds are dying and should be kept away from any droppings. People should not pickup dead, dying or incapacitated birds under any circumstances. But should report them to Environment Health Dept of the local Council. It's conceivably possible that PAAS may have had some birds on some of its waters infected, as they lie within in the infected zone between G.M/C and Liverpool.
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Thanks for the info' Phil.

It does seem to be restricted presently at least to a relatively small area and let's hope it is a short lived problem.

Should have read AB not AV ooops! DEFRA are telling Park Dept M/c that there's very little that can be done for the infected birds. By the time they are noticed looking sick antibiotics, if given, would have no effect on them as they are to far gone. They either die or recover over time. The Warden said it very distressing to see them dying in front of you knowing you can't do anything for them. The mortality rate can be up to 70% of all the waterfowl.
And being a Public park they can't even ring their necks to put them out of their misery because of the public backlash they'd get.

You can write the headline now in the M/c Evening News "Council Workers kill dying birds by ringing their necks in a Public Park!"

Not the best of situations at all, so all they can do is collect the dead and wait and hope it runs its course quickly.
My fear is that it gets into the smaller bird population in the city, which of late has been doing great over the last 5-7 years.

Been on two rivers and a farm pond this week, all the feathered species appear OK in the Colne valley.........

For those following this I got a notification this morning that it's rife now throughout Cheshire. Seems to be moving southwards.

The two parks in Liverpool mentioned are on my doorstep, I had a walk around the other day at my nearest park, a few hundred yards away, no sign of any dead birds, all happily feeding and being clannish.

So they and I are making it up then?
Merseyside parks outbreak of avian botulism being blamed for death of dozens of birds - Liverpool Echo

Avian botulism threat to our wild birds - Pendle Today

BBC News - Botulism suspected after Boggart Hole Clough bird deaths

EXCLUSIVE: Avian botulism kills 50 birds at Birkenhead Park (From Wirral Globe)

Add to that Capethorne Estate and Rudyard Lake

And there birds you saw haven't flown in from somewhere else?

I haven't said anything of the sort, I'm not denying anything, I am just saying I did not see any bird deaths on a walk around and I'm glad I didn't.