Dozens of dead birds are being found on Cape Breton beaches

DOMINION, N.S. -

A walk along Cape Breton's Dominion Beach is peaceful, but the discovery of dead birds is causing a growing concern.

"I didn't really think much of it. It's always sad when you see one, but I didn't think much of it at the time. It wasn't until I posted it," said resident Wayne McKay.

McKay says he found a dead gannet on the beach over the weekend, and after posting the picture to social media he quickly realized he wasn't alone.

"The post was shared a few hundred times and people we commenting on the post saying they found 15 in Donkin and 12 in Glace Bay and people were finding them in West Mabou, so there was reports from all over the island," said McKay.

The avian flu has been confirmed in thousands of gannets in Quebec.

Alberta has also been hit hard by the bird flu, as of May 13 28 farms and over 937,000 birds have been impacted.

"Our first confirmed case of avian influenza around the end of January of this year in a wild Canada Goose," said Department of Natural Resources and Renewables Regional Biologist, Elizabeth Walsh.

More than 1,300 sick or dead birds in multiple locations in Nova Scotia have since been reported.

A higher number of gannets are being found on the island, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables.

"Avian Influenza, the H5N1 virus is a zoonotic virus, which means it can pass from animal to human. So if a person comes across a sick or dead bird, we're asking them not to come in contact with the bird," said Walsh.

Back in Dominion, N.S., MacKay says gannets spend the majority of their life at sea and don't come to land except to nest.

"If you see them on land there is usually something wrong, unless they're in their colonies. I think because there's so many birds in the colonies it's given opportunity for the flu to spread easily," said McKay.

The Department of Natural Resources and Renewables adds residents should bring bird feeders inside to help stop the spread of the virus.