Re: Yellow Rail, etc.

Re: Yellow Rail, etc.
By – 10:23 pm
Dear friends, A correction to last night’s message about the White-fronted Geese sent testing for avian influenza at the lab in Rancho Cordova: In fact none of them were positive, although they were reportedly in poor body condition. As a result a 6th specimen that was not sent for testing was released to the museum: an immature bird, it had been attacked by a dog at the Point Loma naval base on 19 Oct 2022. It will become our first specimen of the White-fronted Goose from San Diego County since 1927! But if avian influenza is not involved in the current influx of White-fronted Geese, is the responsible factor lack of water or insufficient forage due to drought in the Central Valley? Unfortunately, however, a local Western Gull and Brown Pelican did test positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus currently circulating. Thanks to Linda King for sharing the corrected info. Good birding, Philip UnittSan Diego