Aberdeenshire Council has removed about 330 dead birds from Stonehaven beach today as bird flu concerns continue in the north-east.
Distressed members of the public have been seeing various species washed up on the shoreline since late last week.
Meanwhile, concerns about bird flu have continued across the north-east with cases confirmed yesterday at Inchdrewer Farm, south of Banff, with an exclusion zone set up around the premises.
Residents have also reported seeing dead birds in Aberdeen, Cruden Bay and Lunan Bay.
Bird flu taskforce in Stonehaven
Locals have reported seeing hundreds of dead birds on the shoreline in Stonehaven in recent weeks.
Today Aberdeenshire Council confirmed it had activated a strategy to begin clearing away those that have died.
A spokesman said: “Our teams have been closely monitoring the number of deaths in the bird population over recent days across the region.
“We have activated our strategy to begin removing carcasses from our shoreline, with around 330 birds having already been removed from Stonehaven beach today.
“The council has finite resources, but we will look to remove large concentrations of birds from popular areas of highest footfall.
“People should be aware, however, that there will inevitably be more birds washed ashore with each tide so beaches may not be cleared entirely.
“We work closely with APHA whose general advice is to leave dead or sick birds in situ where natural processes will result in the breakdown of the carcasses.
“The risk of catching avian influenza from dead or dying birds is extremely low, however due to other diseases such as salmonella which wild birds can carry, the advice is to leave the birds in-situ.”
What is happening to the birds?
The Scottish SPCA has confirmed it has euthuanised four birds found in Stonehaven due to suspected bird flu.
However, it has not been confirmed if all the birds died from the virus.
North-East Scotland Bird Recorder Ian Broadbent described the prospect of another wave of bird flu “very concerning”, but stressed there may be other reasons behind the deaths.
He said: “Young should be fledging right now so it’s worrying that the adult birds are dying off.
“There are also concerns about a lack of food due to record sea temperatures this year so it may be that the causes of death might be a combination of factors – starvation and/or bird flu.
“We occasionally see ‘wrecks’ of seabirds on beaches and it’s not always down to bird flu – often starvation or storms can produce similar events.”
What to do if you find a dead bird?
People have been urged to not touch or pick up any dead or visibly sick birds, as wild birds can carry several diseases that are infectious to people.
They have also been advised to keep pets away from any dead or sick birds and don’t touch wild bird feathers or surfaces contaminated with droppings.
If you find a single dead bird of prey, swan, goose, duck or gull, or five or more dead wild birds of any other species, this should be reported on the UK Government’s report dead wild birds webpage.
Alternatively, people can phone 03459 33 55 77.