T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM The staff at Riverside Cemetery are keeping a close eye on the geese, ducks and swans which frequent the cemetery, and watching for signs of H5N1. So far, no symptoms have been spotted and the birds have been declared “fine and dandy.”

Recent reports of the bird flu, or H5N1, killing migrating geese in southwest Iowa have raised further awareness of the illness. Staff at Riverside Cemetery are monitoring the beloved birds which gather near the pond and explore the fenced-in area.

General Manager Kelly Schott said the birds are “fine and dandy so far.”

With the large amount of Canadian geese migrating through and making Riverside a pit stop, the monitoring of the regulars and the visitors has increased.

“We get a lot of visitors from up north,” she said. “We have seen a higher turnout this season as it is colder. So far, no avian flu — neither the wild or captive strains. We are fortunate and happy.”

Schott said the monitoring of the birds occurs daily, and added all are well cared for. If a bird does begin showing symptoms of either influenza strain, Riverside staff will capture it and transport it to the veterinarian in Ames.

“The birds are fed every day and over the weekends,” she said. “We keep a close eye on them and if one looks like it has weakness, we go out and get it.”

Some of the symptoms Schott said they watch for include:

• Difficulty breathing;

• Heads hanging down;

• Lethargy and;

• Loss of balance.

She stressed that most wildlife birds, including all of those at Riverside, are carriers of the wildlife strain, which they can naturally recover from. The captive strain, or H5N1, is far more serious with birds dying within 24 hours of infection.

“If a wildlife bird catches the captive strain, it is detrimental,” Schott said.

What makes the Riverside birds wildlife is they are free to come and go as they please, she said. They are not enclosed. The H5N1 has primarily been found in chicken and turkey herds and in wild ducks and geese, Schott said. The latter two are frequent visitors at Riverside, alongside swans. So far, H5N1 has not been discovered in swans.

“That just means it hasn’t happened yet,” she said.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.