Egg prices have experienced a significant decline nationally and on Long Island, following record-high costs attributed to the bird flu and increased production expenses.
That’s the good news. The bad news is the avian influenza is still taking its toll, with numerous fatalities turning up on local beaches. Along the Atlantic shoreline from Smith Point to Moriches Inlet, nearly a dozen birds, including seagulls, ducks, and loons, were found washed up last week.
The New York market saw an average decline of $2.40, bringing prices to $4.78 per dozen for large cartoned shell eggs. That’s a little above the national average, with the Midwest showing the lowest cost at $4.15.
The ongoing H5N1 outbreak has led to the culling of approximately 168 million poultry birds across the U.S., including 100,000 ducks killed at the Crescent Farm in Aquebogue. The price drops are attributed to a letup in flu outbreaks and a $1 billion commitment from the Trump Administration to aid the industry.
Scientists have been on high alert about avian flu since 2020 when a new, “supercharged” version of the virus began spreading across the globe after an initial outbreak in Europe. The disease showed up in Canada in 2021 and quickly worked its way down through the Americas, eventually reaching Antarctica thanks to the migratory habits of the species. Wild birds such as ducks, geese, and seabirds, historically the main hosts for avian flu, have been heavily impacted.
“The birds are practically dropping from the sky,” said wildlife rescuer Karen Malony of Bayport, who reported a dozen bufflehead ducks dead in Blue Point. “ We know of three separate pairs of owls that did not come back and the bald eagle we came to know as ‘Notch’ has gone missing.” Surfer Parker Hough of Stony Brook said he saw dead cormorants in the water off Smith Point. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”