Avian flu peaked in New York in 2025, with dozens more suspected cases so far this year

In early February on Canandaigua Lake, the stark winter landscape was dotted with clusters of dead geese on patches of ice.   
 
"Driving up the road, you might kind of look out in an area and there'd be a good, maybe dozen dead birds that you could kind of see all at once, " said Emily DeBolt, executive director of the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association. 
 
That was on the northwest side of the lake. Other members of her organization said they found dead birds on the east side as well. 
 
The suspected cases of avian influenza have yet to be confirmed, but join dozens of similar reports across the region. Large numbers of dead birds — 20 or more, in most cases — across the Finger Lakes and lower Hudson Valley regions. Cornell University Wildlife Health Program has been fielding those reports since this past fall.
 
This winter was the first in 11 years that that Canandaigua Lake froze, and according to state DEC wildlife biologist Kevin Hynes, harsh weather plays a role in the spread of avian influenza in areas where waterfowl eat and defecate. 
 
"The virus goes into the water or onto the land, and in cold temperatures, that virus can remain viable for quite a while, and that's how other birds get exposed to it," he said. 
 
While the highly contagious bird flu is a potential cause of the deaths, Hynes said, the official determination must be made at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. 
 
Dozens of cases have been confirmed elsewhere in the state, as 2025 became the fifth year that the virus has been detected in New York state. The 293 confirmed cases in 35 species of wild birds were the most of any single year on record.  Much like the influenza that infects humans, avian flu follows a seasonal pattern, usually peaking between December and April.  That follows birds' seasonal migration patterns.  
 
So far in 2026, there were 88 reports of multiple numbers of sick or deceased birds in the DEC's region 8, which includes Monroe, Genesee, Livingston, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, and Yates counties. Most of the infected species have included Canada geese, snow geese, swans, and waterfowl, such as gulls. 
 
The DEC advises against direct contact with a sick or dead bird found on ice or water.   
 
 "If there's a chance that you might fall in, we definitely do not want that to happen," Hynes said. "So our advice, typically, is to leave them on the landscape and kind of let nature take its course." 
 
The DEC provides guidelines for how to dispose of a dead bird that someone finds on their own property. More information is available through the regional DEC offices or by calling (518) 478-2203 or emailing wildlifehealth@dec.ny.gov. 
 
For now, Hynes said New Yorkers should not worry that their outdoor bird feeders might contribute to the spread of avian flu.  While not unheard of, he said, songbirds are generally not at risk. 
 
"We haven't found many in New York, but they found a couple in other states, but it doesn't seem to be anywhere near the level where we feel the need to make any kind of recommendation like that," he said.