Bird flu hits migrating cranes hard in Germany as the virus flares up

LINUM, Germany (AP) — In a spot outside Berlin that's usually a paradise for birdwatchers, volunteers have recovered nearly 2,000 dead cranes in recent days as bird flu has hit the migrating birds hard.

Linum, a small village about an hour's travel from the German capital, is known in summer for its many nesting storks. In the fall and spring, it's a popular resting spot for thousands of cranes as they migrate between the Baltic and Nordic regions and southern Europe. But this month, many of the birds' journeys have ended in the ponds and fields that surround it, as well as at other spots in Germany.

Bird flu has flared up early and quickly in the country this year. Since early September, the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Germany's national animal health authority, has recorded 30 outbre