Virginia Wildlife Officials Investigate Dead Birds

The quiet Saturday morning in Tappahannock, Virginia, was shattered by an eerie and unsettling discovery: dozens of birds — dead or dying — strewn across the Hoskins Creek bridge along Route 17. The grisly scene left locals stunned and officials scrambling for answers.

The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources quickly launched an investigation after receiving reports from concerned residents. Conservation police were dispatched to the site, collecting carcasses and environmental samples for lab testing. By Monday, wildlife biologists are expected to provide initial findings — but for now, the cause of the mass bird deaths remains a mystery.

Wayne Veney Jr. was among the first to document the scene, after his girlfriend spotted the birds while driving through town. His video, posted to Facebook just before 9 a.m., shows the shocking scope of the incident.

“Man, it is dead birds everywhere out here,” Veney said, narrating over footage of lifeless birds scattered across the pavement. “These jokers is bleeding from the mouth.”

“It saddened me to see so many birds hanging on to dear life as others were already dead,” he added.

In response, local authorities temporarily closed the bridge to clear the area and prevent further exposure. The Tappahannock Police Department advised residents not to handle the birds and to report any similar sightings to the state’s wildlife officials.

Though no definitive cause has yet been released, this isn’t the first time Virginia has seen unexplained bird deaths in recent months. In October, black vultures were found dead at Roslyn Landing Park in Colonial Heights, and testing revealed the culprit: H5N1, a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus. That discovery prompted a statewide warning urging residents to avoid contact with sick or dead birds and to alert authorities if they discover five or more dead birds — especially vultures, waterfowl, or shorebirds — in one area.

With Tappahannock just 45 miles from Richmond, officials are working quickly to determine whether this latest incident is connected to avian flu or another environmental threat. Possibilities range from disease outbreaks to poisoning, whether intentional or environmental.

Officials are urging the public to stay alert and wait for the biologists’ findings early this week.