It was supposed to be a nice half-term walk with her young daughter in the Lake District.
Instead it became a toll of dead animals – two greylag geese, two dead ducks, and three dead fish – all on one single popular lake shore walk from Pooley Bridge.
“My daughter was horrified,” said the alarmed woman, aged 32, from Penrith, who this week contacted the Herald and asked not to be identified.
“I have been visiting there since I was a kid and I have never ever seen so many dead birds and dead fish all on the shore.
“We only went for a day out.”
There was no visible sign of water contamination or algae, and no oil or foam on the surface, she pointed out.
Nor did any of the dead animals show any major signs of decomposition or visible evidence of having being scavenged by predators after their death, she said.
That has led her to speculate whether what they died from might have been detected by other prey, and whether it could be harmful to humans.
At the moment, Penrith is part of the 10km “surveillance zone”, after the discovery of bird flu at Winskill.
Just this week, Penrith residents received letters from Christine Middlemiss, the UK Chief Veterinary Officer, strongly urging them to report finds of dead birds, but reminding them of the “low risk” to human health.
But Ullswater is far outside the warning and restrictions zone. As the second largest body of water in the Lake District, it has long been a magnet for wintering birds as well as half-term visitors.
While the authorities have been alerted, the woman has been left with more questions than answers. If it’s bird flu, what did the fish die of, or is it just coincidence they were found close by?
And could this find mean bird flu has arrived in the Lake District?
Defra was asked directly, but its representatives did not address the question.
Instead, they provided a bullet-pointed “background” briefing containing standard public advice recommending that finds of birds be reported, particularly one or more dead birds of prey; three or more dead birds including gull, swan, goose or duck; or five or more dead birds of any species.
The woman reported the matter to Eden District Council’s environmental health team and was referred to the Environment Agency, responsible for water protection.
An Environment Agency spokesperson told the Herald they were confident that the discovery was not water pollution and referred the woman and the Herald to Defra.
Its Animal Plant and Health Agency has so far recorded cases of bird flu in the Appleby area, Carlisle, Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Lancashire, Staffordshire and Hampshire.
To report, telephone 03459 335577 or go to https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-dead-wild-birds
Defra says some species such as ducks, geese and swans can carry the virus and spread it without showing any signs of illness.
It said APHA and its contractors do collect “some of these birds” but not all.
It tests them to help understand what the risk is through understanding how the disease is distributed geographically and in different types of wild bird.
