The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is actively following incidents of bird mortalities first reported in the eastern United States in late May. At that time, wildlife managers in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky began receiving reports of sick and dying birds with eye swelling and crusty discharge, as well as neurological signs.

The illness affecting birds in the eastern U.S. has not yet been identified, and it has not been linked to bird mortalities in Wisconsin. Out of precaution, the DNR asks the public to report sick or dead birds with...