WICHITA FALLS, Texas — It’s been an eventful, busy season at the Wild Bird Rescue in Wichita Falls. Workers and volunteers just got through the yearly bird migration along with a baby bird season that’s bringing several rescues to their front gate every day. The facility also confirmed quarantines for many of its animals after a rescue tested positive for avian flu.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) announced last week that a young owl found in Wichita County in April tested positive for the avian flu that’s currently running through bird populations across the country. So far, this only makes Texas’ second case of the illness in 2022, with another being detected in a commercial pheasant flock in Erath County last month.

Jeff Bryant, Executive Director at Wild Bird Rescue, confirmed that it was their facility that rescued the sick great horned owl, along with its sibling, and quickly discovered that the bird was not well.

“Our senior rehabber noticed it fairly quickly,” said Bryant.

Bryant said workers quarantined the owl and eventually had to euthanize it because of the severity of the illness. A post death lab test of the animal confirmed the owl had avian flu.

Bryant, and organization director Katherine Smith said they’ve been watching all of their rescues extra close this year to detect any signs of the avian flu, and begin procedures to prevent any spreading. That’s exactly what they did as soon as the owl showed symptoms.

“We’ve been taking really extreme precautions. We have an isolation area for the new birds that come in. They’re wearing PPE to make sure that we don’t spread it to anything else,” said Smith.

The measures were successful, Smith said. None of their other rescues have come down with the illness, including the owl’s sibling, which shared a cage with it before the quarantine. The facility also has had no other wild rescues come in, at this point, showing any symptoms or danger of carrying the disease.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been detected in 38 states this year, with some having fairly significant outbreaks. Experts at the University of Minnesota estimate more than 37.55 million birds have died because of the illness already.

In a release last week, leaders at TPWD said, of the avian flu, “HPAI is a highly contagious virus that transmits easily among wild and domestic bird species. It has been detected in 38 states across the country. Symptoms include diarrhea, incoordination, lethargy, coughing and sneezing and sudden death, though birds infected with HPAI may not always have outward signs of infection. The virus may spread in a variety of ways, including through contact with infected wild and domestic birds as well as by contaminated equipment, clothing and shoes of caretakers.”

TPWD wildlife veterinarian Sara Wyckoff said the illness’s ability to travel quickly with a high death rate concerns her the most. She said a sick bird can easily contaminate the water or food sources of other bird populations and spread the disease to large numbers.

“The big concern is if it became a big agricultural problem: we’re looking at millions and millions of birds having to be depopulated,” said Wyckoff.

Wyckoff said it’s also a concern for humans as they can inadvertently assist in the illness' spread by spreading contamination from one place to another and, in rare cases, get sick themselves. She said it’s important that people observe biosecurity measures like washing their hands after coming in contact with birds or their droppings, using PPE if they are in contact with wild animals, and keep food and water sources away from wild animals.

TPWD also asks that Texans who come across any birds that appear sick or dead to contact the department right away so it can put the proper testing and quarantine measures into place.

Quarantine measures clearly worked at the Wild Bird Rescue where leaders, on Monday, were happy to report many of their rescues, were leaving quarantine to complete their rehabilitation and be released back into the wild.

Smith, who’s dealt with avian flu cases in the past, is also trying to better educate the public on the illness. She said, in her experience, she’s not overly worried about more cases showing up in Texas this season. Smith said the migrations that lead to spread have calmed down significantly. 

However, leaders at the rescue said they will remain vigilant and keep watching the North Texas bird population closely for any sign of problems. 

“We want to make sure that people understand how important a part birds play in our society,” said Bryant.