PROVIDENCE — This time of year isn’t supposed to be busy for Sheida Soleimani, the powerhouse artist, professor, and animal rehabilitator.

It’s not baby bird season, Soleimani explained, the time of year when worried good Samaritans swamp her clinic, Congress of the Birds, with calls about potentially failing fledglings.

But that rush is a few months away. Winter is a relatively quiet season, and Soleimani said she usually gets one or two calls on an average day. But this year, her phone is buzzing 15 to 20 times daily.

“The amount of birds that I’m getting calls about on a daily basis has really just gone up exponentially,” she said.

Most of the calls are about cases of bird flu, Soleimani told ecoRI News, or at least about birds who appear to be infected with the disease that has killed millions of animals around the country, including a flock in southern Rhode Island last month.

“What we are seeing is mass mortalities,” Soleimani said. “They’re falling out of the sky dying.”

H5N1, the most common strain of the avian influenza hitting the country right now, is a “highly pathogenic avian influenza” that popped up in the United States probably somewhere in late 2021, according to Scott Marshall, the Department of Environmental Management’s state veterinarian and Division of Agriculture deputy chief. It’s hitting domestic birds, wild flocks, and some mammals.

In birds, the disease is almost certainly fatal, said Marshall, explaining that a commercial poultry farmer could have a perfectly healthy flock in the morning, and by the afternoon, 10% to 20% of the birds could be dead.

Animals such as foxes and house cats have also died from the disease, but the virus seems to be more mild in other mammals, such as humans and cows, according to Marshall. One human has died in the United States from the recent H5N1 outbreak.

This strain of bird flu spreads through bodily fluids and can be tracked and moved around on fomites — inanimate objects such as shoes and clothing — but not through the air (the way coronavirus spreads). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that bird flu is not yet transmitted from person to person, which Marshall said means the people most at risk are those who work directly with animals.

Farmers can actually request free personal protective equipment through a form online to help protect themselves and their workers from the virus.

When H5N1 is suspected in a flock, DEM or the U.S. Department of Agriculture tests the animals. If the virus is detected in commercial flocks, the entire flock must be euthanized, but Marshall said case-by-case exceptions can be made for non-commercial flocks, which would have to be quarantined for 120 days rather than depopulated.

There is a program through the USDA to voluntarily test birds, even if a flock is not exhibiting symptoms, “but what you have to keep in mind is that’s just, you know, one snapshot,” Marshall said. “Your birds could be tested today and get infected tomorrow.”

Domestic or wild birds and animals with suspected symptoms can be reported to DEM through an online form or call. The response for a domestic bird versus a wild bird differs.

“While reports of sick or dead wild birds are appreciated for monitoring activities, not all submissions require a DEM response,” agency spokesperson Evan LaCross said. “Typically, reports of sick or dead wild birds near domestic backyard flocks or farms would require testing, but that has not yet occurred.”

In total, 105 birds and one mammal have been euthanized because of avian influenza in Rhode Island since the outbreak started, LaCross told ecoRI News.

The Wildlife Clinic of Rhode Island also sends samples to Tufts University in Boston for testing. Since the start of this outbreak in 2022, they’ve had 30 positive tests for bird flu from birds and an additional positive result from one mammal.

A third of the positive avian flu results have come in just from the start of 2025.

Soleimani, who works with the wildlife clinic, said some of her own samples were probably in their batches, but she noted testing for wild birds functions differently than for domestic animals and has been more limited. A local veterinarian has been providing Soleimani and others with swabs, she said.

The signs of infected birds vary. She said she’s seeing birds that appear drunk, stumbling, trembling, with twisted heads and necks, eyes closed or weeping fluids. With sea birds, Soleimani said she’s also seeing respiratory symptoms.

“Do not handle any injured birds without speaking with a wildlife rehabilitator first,” Soleimani warned. “I have had so many finders who have picked up birds that are so clearly positive, and touched them and held them against their faces, and thought they were helping them, and didn’t know that they should be worried about avian flu.”

Soleimani said no bird should be handled without extensive PPE: gloves, mask, goggles, even a visor or gown, if available.

Soleimani has been going out into the field to look at birds that might be positive.

On-site, her clinic has a disinfectant foot bath that everyone who comes into the space has to use to prevent the flu’s spread, and disinfectants in general are being used on everything and everywhere, she said.

She said she would like to see a local task force formed to help fill in gaps in testing and the disposal of dead, infected birds, which she said could be infecting healthy animals who are opportunistic feeders.

The issue of birds eating other infected birds is being raised in Plymouth, Mass., where the community has seen an uptick in the virus and bald eagles and other birds of prey could be at risk. Soleimani said if someone finds a dead bird and wants to dispose of it, they should wear PPE and triple-bag the remains.

Both Soleimani and Marshall advised people to exercise caution. Not every dead or sick bird is infected, but the disease is out in the population enough to take extra care.

“I don’t think every dead bird is diseased or a vector,” Soleimani said, “but I think we should be treating all birds with caution at this point.”

It’s been an exhausting start to the year, Soleimani acknowledged, and for someone who cares so much about animals, it’s also been emotionally difficult.

“I’ve never been a person that’s dealt with depression, and I wouldn’t say I’m depressed but I’m feeling … my psyche is destroyed,” Soleimani said. “I’m used to seeing animals that are in pain. I’m used to seeing animals that are dying. But there’s usually something that we can try to do, but I’m feeling completely helpless.”

She’s concerned about the trajectory of the virus and hopes people will start learning more about it and taking it seriously.

“For all of us, it’s been really crazy,” Soleimani said, “and this is just the beginning of it.”