COLONIE — The town has not found a sick or dead bird at The Crossings in more than a week, and as such has re-opened the popular walking path around the pond.
Late last month, the flock of Canada geese, ducks and other waterfowl that frequent the pond were struck with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or Avian flu as it is more commonly called.
While Avian flu represents a miniscule threat to humans and domestic pets, Supervisor Peter Crummey closed down the walking path out of an abundance of caution.
Throughout, the supervisor reiterated the warning found on a number of signs surrounding the pond asking people stay away from the waterfowl and any feces and to not feed them. As unsubtle as the warnings are to people of the negative consequences feeding birds has, the signs are still routinely ignored on any given day.
In April, the state Department of Environmental Conservation issued a public advisory about the prevalence of Avian flu in New York. This strain likely came from Europe, where it has been circulating since 2020. It was first detected in North America in November, 2021 and expanded rapidly in March, 2022, according to the DEC. In February, the first New York case was found in in Suffolk County.
Earlier this year, a great horned owl and a bald eagle were diagnosed with the flu in Albany County, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
