Bird flu likely found in about 20 birds in East Patchogue, state DEC confirms

About 20 ducks, geese and shorebirds found dead on an East Patchogue beach are likely positive for bird flu, state Department of Environmental Conservation officials said late Wednesday.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has already been found in birds in the area, so people should “strongly consider” these birds are positive, the agency told Newsday in an email.

While fatal to birds, humans are still at low risk of falling ill to HPAI, according to local experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Anyone who has had "close contact" with sick or dead wild birds should contact their state health department and watch out for symptoms that include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches and red, irritated eyes.

Tim Jones, vice president of Patchogue Shores, a private community between Patchogue and Bellport, said in an interview Wednesday night that he had seen the birds at a beach often used by community members near the end of Ocean Avenue and Shore Road.   

Since the start of this outbreak in 2022, 70 people across the country have tested positive for bird flu and one individual from Louisiana died. That person was over the age of 65 with underlying health conditions and had a backyard flock.

Most of the people who contracted the virus worked with poultry or dairy cows that were infected. Currently, the virus cannot be spread from person to person.

So far in 2025, initial results from Cornell University’s Wildlife Health Laboratory are "presumptive positive" for 128 birds in 37 counties, the DEC said. Confirmation from the USDA lab is pending. Since the start of the outbreak, 485 wild birds have tested positive for HPAI in New York State.

"These only represent cases brought to DEC’s attention and collected by DEC staff," the agency said. "The number of dead birds statewide is much higher, and testing is case specific."

Finding HPAI in wild birds is common, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The agency has confirmed the virus in over 12,000 wild birds, 166 million birds from backyard and commercial poultry flocks, 973 cases of cattle and other mammals since 2022.

The virus is often transmitted from wild birds to poultry flocks, the USDA said. An outbreak at Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue last month resulted in its entire flock of 99,000 being euthanized.

Jones, 36, who works for Suffolk County Water Authority, said he saw the birds Tuesday when he, his wife and two young children went to the beach to take a walk. They stopped when they saw the carcasses: “They were everywhere, dead in the water, floating by the shore,” he said. “Some were scavenged.”

His wife, Sarah, said a prayer for the birds. Then they notified authorities and sent a text alert to community members, warning them to keep their dogs off the beach.

Jones said that on Wednesday, he watched a duck twitch on the shore before wading into the water and swimming in circles.

Neighbors on some canals had also reported seeing dead ducks float past their properties, Jones said.