Avian flu likely killed dozens of geese found in Otisco Lake and Seneca River

On cold winter mornings, Paul Pacelli enjoys walking along the Seneca River in the village of Baldwinsville to watch bald eagles snatch fish from the open water near the dam.

On Jan. 20, he noticed something unusual and disturbing: a handful of sick and dying Canada geese laying limp on the ice, unable to lift their heads. More sick geese appeared the next day.

“I have a love for wildlife,” Pacelli said, “and it breaks my heart to sit there and watch a goose that can’t keep its head up.”

In all, Pacelli has counted 12-15 dead geese on the river in the past two weeks. He removed some carcasses and reported the incident to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Residents around Otisco Lake last week also reported at least 50 dead Canada geese frozen in the ice covering much of the lake.

Jennifer Griffin, president of the Otisco Lake Preservation Association, said she’s never seen anything like it in her six decades on the lake.

“It was very alarming to see the number of dead birds,” said Griffin. “They pop right out because they’re just these black blobs all over the ice.”

“We’re unfortunately seeing a lot of incidents with geese, both Canada and snow geese on local lakes,” including Onondaga Lake, said Krysten Schuler, co-director of Cornell University’s Wildlife Health Lab.

“It’s just kind of unfortunate but not unexpected,” Schuler said.

DEC received 12 dead geese collected from Otisco Lake and sent them to Schuler’s lab. Initial test results are “presumptive positive for HPAI,” DEC said, referring to highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as avian flu or bird flu.

HPAI is also suspected to have recently killed scores of waterfowl on Seneca Lake.

Confirmation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Iowa is pending, DEC said.

No threat to drinking water

Otisco Lake is a critical source of drinking water, supplying nearly 40 million gallons of water per day to 340,000 residents and businesses in five counties, according to the Onondaga County Water Authority (OCWA).

OCWA executive director Jeff Brown said the presence of dead geese on the ice has no impact on Otisco’s Lake’s water quality, and that the water is safe to drink.

“We’ve definitely looked into the issue,” Brown said. “We have multiple processes to treat the water that kills anything like that, any virus or anything associated with the birds.”

The current HPAI outbreak began in Feb. 2022 and has affected 153 million birds in every state and Puerto Rico, according to the USDA. That number represents more than 1,500 poultry flocks, both backyard and commercial.

It’s unprecedented for an HPAI outbreak to last many years, said Schuler. Typically the virus burns out in one year.

“We were actually hopeful this summer, at least for wild birds, because we weren’t seeing any continued transmission and hoped that maybe the virus had run its course,” Schuler said. “But unfortunately, that was not the case.”

The Cooperative Wildlife Health Program monitors the occurrence and impact of HPAI statewide.

Schuler said she’s received more reports of HPAI in wild birds this winter, but it’s too early to say if that’s due to increased mortality or because people are paying closer attention to dead birds on the landscape.

Onondaga County has six confirmed cases of HPAI so far this year, according to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The virus was detected in a variety of species including American crow, mallard, bald eagle, red tailed hawk, and Canada goose.

New York is among 13 states where HPAI outbreaks resulted in large-scale culling in 2025.

In January, a commercial duck farm in Suffolk County euthanized 101,000 birds, a mere fraction compared to the nearly nine million birds euthanized at commercial poultry farms in Ohio in the past month.

How to report suspected avian flu

The DEC recently introduced a new website for reporting suspected HPAI outbreaks in wild birds. Of particular interest are observations of sick or dead waterfowl, raptors, crows, shorebirds, and other waterbirds such as gulls, loons, and herons.

OLPA’s Griffin said she’s concerned about the impact the dead geese scattered across the lake, and HPAI in general, might have on Otisco Lake’s other wild bird species.

“A woman down by the causeway said she saw an eagle eating the carcass of a goose,” Griffin said. “We have tons of herons and other fishing birds, too.”

People should limit contact with dead wildlife and keep domestic animals away from carcasses, DEC said. But if removal of carcasses is necessary, DEC offers these guidelines:

• Wear disposable gloves, a mask, and eye protection.
• Don’t touch carcasses, use a shovel instead.
• Triple bag carcasses and throw them in outdoor trash can.
• Wash hands and clothing immediately after with soap and hot water.

Can people get sick from HPAI?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that HPAI doesn’t present an immediate public health concern. HPAI cases in humans are rare, and symptoms are typically mild.

There have been 67 confirmed human cases, and one death, from H5N1 infection, the virus that causes avian flu. All but three cases involved workers in commercial dairy and poultry operations.

This article by Steve Featherstone was first published by New York Upstate on 6 February 2025. Lead Image: Paul Pacelli, of Baldwinsville, recently took this photo of a sick Canada goose on the Seneca River in Baldwinsville. Pacelli observed 12-15 sick and dying geese on the ice.Paul Pacelli.

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