New reporting tool in Nebraska tracked dozens of avian flu cases in wild birds during migration season

A relatively new avian flu reporting tool from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission captured dozens of suspected bird flu cases in wild birds in Nebraska during the winter peak migration season.

The commission tracked at least 150 suspected avian flu cases in wild birds since the system was launched last March. 84 of those cases were reported to the commission between Nov. 28 and Jan. 27.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission publicized the reporting system last fall, just as wild birds took flight during their peak migration season, said Marnee Roundtree, the commission’s Wildlife Health Program manager.

“These numbers are not representative of what is likely occurring on our landscape,” Roundtree said. “When we went public with our reporting tool, it lined up beautifully with the migration season, so we expected increased numbers.”

The reporting tool launched by the commission is only fielding suspected avian flu cases in wild birds, such as geese, swans and ducks. Any suspected cases in poultry or domesticated birds should be reported to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

As the public reporting program gets off and running, there could be more consistent measurements of avian flu in wild birds. But the increase in reports between November and January aligns with an increase the state saw in reports of avian flu in poultry flocks, according to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. In January, the department said it had received reports of bird flu in poultry flocks in Butler, Keith, Howard, Washington and Scotts Bluff counties in the last two months of 2025.

While the Nebraska Department of Agriculture didn’t specify the number of birds affected in those poultry outbreaks, the USDA said bird flu cases between early January and early December affected almost 145,000 birds. The group of poultry flock outbreaks and higher wild bird cases followed an announcement in September by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, which confirmed the first case of avian flu in a Nebraska dairy herd in state history.

Nebraska Public Media News asked the Nebraska Department of Agriculture if it had any new cases since its report in early January, and a spokesperson for the department said any new updates will be posted on its website.

Roundtree said her small Wildlife Health staff reviews the reports they received from the public reporting tool, and then they determine the severity of the cases and whether they or the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center should conduct testing.

“We’re a pretty small agency, so we don’t have the capacity to respond and go out into the field for every single reported event. We have specific criteria that changes, that highlights when we need to get samples and then coordinate that testing,” Roundtree said.

So far, the program has seen more reported cases in urban areas, and Roundtree credits that to those areas having more people. The program is also collecting more reports from birds around large bodies of water, since those are the main habitats that wild birds tend to live in and be around.

“But we are very fortunate that we’re receiving reports all across the state, and I’m hopeful that we’ll continue to see more of a homogenous or a generalized view of what is occurring in all the different areas of our state,” Roundtree said.

Wild birds that may be suffering from bird flu typically display abnormal behavior, Roundtree said. Some symptoms might be hard to spot from far away, such as eye swelling and respiratory symptoms. Other signs of bird flu can include a wild bird swimming in circles, not being able to fly or not being able to keep its head upright. Sick birds can also suffer from tremors or seizures.

Bird flu can spread easily between infected birds and other animals through direct contact or in droplets and dust through the air, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Wild birds can also pick it up from a sick animal’s waste.

Health officials recommend that people not approach any birds that are displaying signs of avian flu. The risk of humans contracting avian flu is low, but people have contracted the disease after being around infected birds. In January 2025, a man in Louisiana who had been exposed to “a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds” contracted the disease and died, marking the first death of a person infected with bird flu in the U.S.

The number of suspected wild bird avian flu cases reported by month to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission since March:

• March 7-29, 2025: 30 reports of avian flu in wild birds
• March 29 - April 28: 15
• April 28 - May 29: 13
• May 29 - June 28: 9
• June 28 - July 29: 8
• July 29 - Aug. 29: 2
• Aug. 29 - Sept. 28: 3
• Sept. 28 - Oct. 29: 1
• Oct. 29 - Nov. 28: 3
• Nov. 28 - Dec. 29: 47
• Dec. 29 - Jan. 27: 19