Hundreds of dead sandwich terns are found in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. The birds have died from bird flu and there are fears that many more will die. Normally about 7000 sandwich terns live in the Waterdunen nature reserve in Zeeland.
The news about the massive death of the sandwich tern in Zeeland follows a day after the melding that also on Texel and on the uninhabited island of Griend (near Vlieland) two colonies of the characteristic white bird with black crest are being wiped out.
The Zeeland Landscape initially hoped that the Waterdunen nature reserve near Breskens would be the best option, but that is not the case, reports Broadcasting Zeeland.
Adult birds and young
Landscaping workers in protective suits are now busy removing the dead birds, finding both adults and their young. This means that the situation in Waterdunen differs slightly from that on Texel: there mainly (very) young sandwich terns are found dead and the adult birds seem to have fled.
Of the 7000 birds on Texel, 3000 have been found dead. The rest probably floats dead at sea or has moved away:
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