Dozens of dead crows found near Central Valley Greenway in Burnaby
B.C. Ministry of Forests says it hasn't ruled out avian flu
WARNING: This story contains images of dead crows.
Dozens of dead crows were spotted in Burnaby, B.C., Monday, and locals who reported them to authorities say crows still alive in the area were also acting strange.
Paul Cipywnyk lives in Burnaby, and as president of the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers Society and an avid nature and wildlife photographer, he often goes on long outdoor walks.
"I was spending some time walking along the [Central Valley] Greenway taking pictures ... and I came across a dead crow," he told On the Coast host Gloria Macarenko on Thursday.
"And I thought, 'Well, that's not always that unusual,' but then a few steps down the road, another dead crow. And another dead crow. And another dead crow.
"Pretty soon, it was well over a dozen."
Cipywnyk says not only were there several dead crows, but the other birds in the area were oddly silent and not interacting with each other.
After calling Burnaby's wildlife rescue team to report what he saw, he was referred to the B.C. wild bird mortality investigation program.
He says he saw other people posting pictures from Burnaby on social media that showed "over two dozen" dead birds.
Crossing Still Creek on the Central Valley Greenway today, I came across an unusually high number of dead crows around a single property. Not sure who or what killed them. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vanbikes?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vanbikes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/murdermystery?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#murdermystery</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/burnaby?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#burnaby</a> <a href="https://t.co/GlaHRwNYre">pic.twitter.com/GlaHRwNYre</a>
—@RobertAlsteadSimilar incident on the East Coast
On Thursday, Cipywnyk said he hadn't heard back from officials since reporting the crows' deaths.
After doing some digging online, he found something similar had happened recently in P.E.I. and was investigated by the Atlantic Veterinary College.
The College believes corvid orthoreovirus was to blame, a somewhat newly described virus causing mass mortality among crows congregating in winter roosts.
"I have asked around a little bit and haven't got any confirmation," Cipywnyk said when asked whether the deaths could be linked to recent outbreaks of avian flu.
"It appears the flu is more for waterfowl and then, of course, transferred to poultry. I didn't find anything on crows being affected by it," he said, adding that he's not an expert on the subject.
In a statement to CBC, the B.C. Ministry of Forests said the situation in Burnaby was reported on Monday, and avian flu has not been ruled out.
The ministry said its labs are focused on monitoring the spread of the flu among domestic and agricultural flocks and tracking transmission around the province.
A spokesperson said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is the lead on all foreign animal diseases and the best source of information for confirmed avian flu cases.
The CFIA told CBC in an email that dead wild birds are reported to the province and test results would come from B.C.'s animal health lab.
The agency also shared a document that explains how and where to report similar sightings, or suspected cases of avian flu, in B.C.
Cypywnyk says seeing so many dead crows was a little off-putting, and he hopes to eventually learn what caused it.
"It really was disconcerting," he said. "It was kind of spooky."
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