Long Island's Last Ducks?

The destruction of nearly 100,000 ducks at Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue late last month due to an outbreak of the avian flu there was alarming, and a tragedy for the family running the farm and their employees. It’s unclear whether the last remaining duck farm on Long Island will be able to rebound.

The outbreak at the farm was the latest in a series of scary global outbreaks in recent months, affecting the poultry industry and resulting in a sharp increase in cost to consumers.

Locally, it follows an outbreak of the deadly virus at Spring Farm, a game farm in Sag Harbor, in 2022. There, thousands of pheasants and ducks had to be euthanized to control the spread of the virus. The game farm was never able to recover.

The poultry industry — and particularity the production of eggs — has taken a hard hit nationally. The current outbreak in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, began in February 2022 and has affected 153.6 million birds, including 708 commercial flocks and 801 backyard flocks, as of January 31. Outbreaks at egg-producing farms have accounted for the loss of nearly 118.6 million birds. In January alone, more than 23.3 million egg-producing birds were lost. That’s one reason for the high cost of eggs nationwide right now.

But the loss in Aquebogue hits closer to home. Duck farming was once a thriving industry on Long Island — hence the renowned “Long Island duck” enjoyed around the world. Crescent Duck Farm is the last remaining stalwart of the industry, operated by Doug Corwin, a fourth-generation duck farmer, and his 75 or so employees, whose futures are now uncertain. Thankfully, the community has initiated fundraisers to try to help the employees as Corwin navigates the farm’s future.

If Corwin isn’t able to recover, it will mark a final chapter to the once-thriving industry that became synonymous with the region. The Big Duck? It represents the region’s agricultural strength. Soon, it might better represent the agricultural past.

The State Department of Environmental Conservation has launched an online tool for the reporting of dead birds suspected of having been infected with the bird flu. In a time, nationally, when it seems that the current administration might have less of a focus on environmental concerns, it’s critical that everyone remains vigilant and uses tools like the DEC hotline to help to circumvent additional tragedies like the one last month on the North Fork.

And keep Doug Corwin and his family in your thoughts. They are a link to the region’s roots — and their continued survival as a farm family carries a little additional weight, since their farm’s demise would take an entire chapter of East End history with it.