The dead vultures found in Rocky Mount died from avian flu, the Department of Wildlife Resources has confirmed. Approximately 30 vultures were found dead.
The finding brings the number of Virginia localities where wild birds have been confirmed to have died from the virus to 10. These have generally been black vultures, a carrion bird that eats dead animals, which makes them susceptible to picking up diseases.
Michael Persia, a Virginia Tech professor and poultry nutrition specialist, told Cardinal News last month that the number of vultures turning up dead from avian flu was unusual but probably didn’t represent a wider spread of the virus. (See Cardinal’s previous report.)
Vultures move around more than smaller wild birds, which could help explain the recent cases, Persia said then. “My guess is that it’s probably a one-off” series of deaths and not a long-term indicator of a new spread pattern.
He also said the virus often recurs in the fall when migrating birds carry avian flu on their travels, he said.
Since 2021, avian flu has been detected in 179 wild birds in Virginia, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one of the lowest numbers on the East Coast. The most detections in the U.S. have been in Minnesota, with 989.
Shelby Crouch, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, says the patterns in Virginia have varied over time: “From Jan. 2025 – July 2025, there were widespread suspected and confirmed cases (more than 200), beginning on the Eastern Shore. However, when I say widespread, outside of Northern Virginia, none were west of the 95 corridor. Between 2022 and 2024, there were a handful of suspected cases in the Western part of the state. So this season, starting a bit earlier than last season and so far being mostly centered in the Western part of the state is a bit different. All that said, we’ve only seen this in Virginia since 2022 and the Department has been trying to communicate with the public more about how to report suspected cases (possibly leading to higher numbers), so I am not really sure if we have enough data to suggest pattern. In addition, the Saltville, Glade Springs, and Rocky Mount cases all happened in very public spaces leading to additional reporting and more understanding by the public about what to report.”
In the Rocky Mount case, about 30 vultures were found dead last week “at a wooded lot on the corner of Dent Street and Franklin Street (Route 40),” the town said in a statement. Some were in an unnamed wet weather creek that feeds into Furnace Creek after a rain. The town noted that the intermittent stream is not connected to the local water supply.
A biologist from the Department of Wildlife Resources arrived and sent the dead birds off for testing at the University of Georgia. On Monday, the department announced its findings: “Preliminary testing results have detected H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the black vultures that were collected from Rocky Mount last week. This is exactly as we expected it to be and is consistent with numerous other HPAI events in vultures in Virginia (and a number of other states) over the past several months.”
The department has this advisory on its website:
“If you observe any of the following wild bird occurrences, please notify DWR by calling the Virginia Wildlife Conflict Helpline at 855-571-9003 or emailing wildlifehealth@dwr.virginia.gov.
- Five or more dead vultures, waterfowl, shorebirds or seabirds in the same area within five days
- Sick or dead eagles, hawks, owls or turkeys, excluding carcasses found on the road
- Ten or more dead wild birds of any other species in the same area within five days.”
