News · Wildlife · Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens

A Lake Macquarie tern has tested positive for H5 bird flu. Port Stephens had three events at Bobs Farm in September

NSW says the risk to human health remains low, and there have been no detections in commercial poultry, captive birds or livestock in the state. If you see a sick or dead wild bird, do not touch it, keep children and pets away, and report it to the state on the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline, 1800 675 888. Lake Macquarie City Council encourages residents to report to the state department rather than to the council.

The Hunter Ledger · 8 October 2026 · 11 primary sources, read 8 October 2026

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The short answer. Lake Macquarie City Council said on 7 October that A greater crested tern found in Lake Macquarie has tested positive for H5 avian influenza (bird flu), with the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) leading the response. The council’s release says The risk to the public remains low. Human infections are rare and the virus does not spread easily between people. For most residents the practical change is small: leave sick and dead birds alone, keep dogs on a lead around wildlife, and if you keep chooks, keep them away from wild birds. Neither the council’s release nor the state’s bird flu page, as at 8 October, says where in Lake Macquarie the bird was found.

What residents are asked to do

The council’s advice follows the state’s three words: avoid, record, report. Community members are encouraged to report sightings of sick or dead birds directly to NSW DPIRD rather than Council, as the department is coordinating surveillance, assessments and response activities across NSW. Reports go through the state’s online form or the hotline.

Two details from the NSW Government’s page are worth knowing before you call. First, All reports are assessed by NSW DPIRD and not every report will require investigation or testing. Second, leave the bird where it is: Do not move or dispose of the animal unless instructed to do so. The hotline takes calls 24 hours a day, but the page says a report made outside 8am to 5pm is reviewed by the next available assessment team; overnight staff record it but do not assess cases or issue case numbers, which matters if a wildlife carer asks you for one.

How far it has spread in NSW

The state counts “events”, not birds. Since 12 August 2026, the Australian Government explains, An event may involve one or more animals. NSW’s count has climbed quickly. Its ministerial releases gave 20 events as at 3 September, 30 on 11 September and 40 on 16 September. When we read the NSW Government’s bird flu page on 8 October it said NSW has recorded 70 H5 bird flu events. That is 30 more than on 16 September (our arithmetic). Nationally, the Australian Government counted 694 confirmed events in wildlife as at 4pm AEST on 7 October, 68 of them in NSW; it says its figures may differ from state websites because of differences in reporting timing.

The biggest clusters are in the Eurobodalla and Bega Valley council areas, 29 of the 68 NSW rows between them, and most events have been in one kind of bird. By our count, 49 of the 68 NSW rows in the national list are greater crested terns, the species found in Lake Macquarie. The NSW Government’s 16 September release gave a reason: Most detections have been in various species of terns, and this is likely because they gather in large groups along the NSW coast, making it easier for bird flu to spread between the birds.

The events nearest this patch

The Lake Macquarie tern is not the first event in this masthead’s patch. The national list’s earliest-sampled NSW record, NSW-WB-001, is a giant petrel sampled at Hawks Nest, in the Mid-Coast council area, on 28 June 2026. Port Stephens has three events, all sampled at Bobs Farm on 17 and 18 September: a shy albatross, a wedge-tailed shearwater and a greater crested tern. To the south, the Central Coast has four, sampled at Woy Woy, Booker Bay, Long Jetty and Tuggerah between 9 and 17 September.

Pets, backyard chooks and people

Dogs and cats. The NSW Government’s advice for pet owners is to keep dogs on a leash in wildlife areas, keep cats indoors or in secure enclosures, and not leave pet food or water where wild birds can reach it. The council adds keeping dogs on leads and pets away from wildlife, washing hands after visiting beaches, wetlands and parks, and cleaning footwear and equipment afterwards.

Backyard chooks and aviary birds. The state’s page for bird owners says H5 bird flu is a notifiable animal disease. Its advice is to keep birds enclosed where practical, use netting to stop contact with wild birds, put food and water where wild birds cannot reach it, keep birds away from natural water, and isolate new birds before they join a flock. On 11 September the government said The NSW Chief Veterinary Officer continues to advise that, where possible poultry are housed. That is advice, not an order. Sudden deaths, breathing trouble, swelling around the head and a sudden drop in egg production are among the signs the page lists; report them the same way.

People. NSW Health says the current risk of bird flu to people in Australia is low. People at higher risk, it says, are those with close or prolonged contact with infected birds or animals, or contaminated environments, and those most at risk include anyone handling sick or dead birds. It also says The seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against bird flu, but it is still recommended.

Our view

This section is opinion, built on the facts above.

One tern is not a reason to stay off the lake. The state’s own position is that the risk to people is low and that there have been no detections in commercial poultry, captive birds or livestock in NSW, and nothing in the documents we read says otherwise. What the Lake Macquarie event does show is that the species behind most of the state’s events is now carrying the virus in this city as well as at Bobs Farm, and that the council has put the state’s advice in front of its residents.

The weak point is the location. “In Lake Macquarie” could mean the lake or anywhere in the city, and as at 8 October neither the council’s release nor the state’s page says which. The national spreadsheet gives a locality for every event, so the answer should appear there; we will add the locality and sampling date to this story when the national list publishes them. Until then the advice is the same everywhere, and it costs little to follow. The state’s own background page notes that overseas the virus is often first detected when people report sick or dead birds and other wildlife. The council is right to send those reports to the people who test them.

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