Nature reserve on Dorset's Brownsea Island closed following bird flu scare
Dorset Wildlife Trust is investigating after a suspected case there
A suspected case of bird flu has forced the nature reserve on Brownsea Island to close ‘with immediate effect’.
According to The British Trust for Ornithology, the last variant of bird flu (H5N1) killed more than 50,000 wild birds in the UK between October 2021 until the start of April 2023.
In 2023 alone, the RSPB estimates that 1,200 birds have died on their nature reserves with black-headed gulls the most affected.
Brownsea Island is home to number of black-headed gulls and a wide variety of birds such as: Dunlin, Common Kingfisher, Spotted Redshank, Common Tern and others.
Dorset Wildlife Trust have apologised for any inconveniences caused and will now ‘fully investigate the situation’.
The National Trust area of the island will remain open to the public and ferries are running from Poole Quay as normal.
Bird flu is highly infectious among birds but poses a low risk to people, the NHS say: “in rare cases it can affect humans.”