‘We expected it, but now it’s here’: on the frontline of Australia’s bird flu outbreak, people are distressed

A dead greater crested tern found at Pelican Point on the Limestone Coast in South Australia. Photograph: Veronica Miller

It has only been three weeks since H5 bird flu was detected on South Australia’s Limestone Coast and already encounters with sick or dead birds are becoming commonplace.

Maureen Christie, who lives in the seaside town of Carpenter Rocks, has been observing and protecting birds in the region for decades. She is now witnessing many stricken and suffering.