Spread of bird flu reports alarms bird watchers in Japan

November, 28, 2016

Spread of bird flu reports alarms bird watchers in Japan

Bird watching is one of pleasures for Japanese, particularly around this time of the year. About 500 to 600 species of birds migrate to Japan or stop over in Japan on their way further down to the south from late autumn to winter. Their habitats can be found at marches, lakes and elsewhere. Their annual visits delight the eyes of bird watchers, but they are getting a little nervous about changes in the environment around their habitats.

One of their concerns is avian influenza cases reported in Japan almost every year. Big colonies of hooded cranes in Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, attract many bird watchers every year toward winter, but highly pathogenic bird flu viruses were detected from samples taken around their habitats in the middle of November.
This was followed by reports of bird flu cases involving poultry in Aomori and Niigata prefectures, both in the northern part of Japan. The cases have forced affected farms to kill almost 300,000 chickens and ducks.
This year's bird flu scare began with reports of a wide-spread avian epidemic which occurred in South Korea, located north of Japan, early in November. The incident in South Korea eventually led to the killing of 2 million birds of poultry at over 40 places across the country.
In a dam lake and an adjacent reservoir in Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, about 40 kinds of birds can be seen, among them mallards, teals and other migrating ducks.
The one can find plates showing the habits of wild birds living in the area placed on a promenade around the dam lake.
There have been no reports of avian influenza cases with wild birds or poultry in Fukuoka this year.
The situation in areas with avian colonies, such as Izumi, or at big poultry farms is regularly monitored. This is why any bird flu viruses can be found quickly in such areas, said a bird watcher who is familiar with the environment around the lake.
"Should habitats of migratory birds and poultry farms in other areas monitored carefully and systematically, more bird flu cases would be found," he said.

The Lake of Ohmi. Plovers drifting on evening waves right there! When you chirp, my heart languishes, and my memories in the old days come to me.
(A personal translation)

This is a waka poem made by Kakinomoto Hitomaro, a great poet who was active in the 7th century. Called a "saint" in Japan's waka poetry tradition from the ancient times, he lived a mysterious life.
Birds migrating to Japan, summer birds and winter birds, have entertained Japanese over centuries, impressing them with signs of the transition of the four seasons.
The habits of some wild birds in Japan are said to be changing in recent years.
A few birds earlier believed to be migrating are seen almost throughout the year in many parts of Japan.
Bird watchers have come to realize that it will be even more important to monitor the ecology of wild birds in Japan in order to keep signs of irregularities from affecting the environment for their habitats.