The approach of spring brings not only the return of wild
migratory birds to American shores but also the threat of avian
influenza. And this is the man whose job it is to spot it.
Working on the Bering Sea at the tip of Alaska, Paul Flint, a
Research Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, is
the point man in America's campaign against bird flu. "We're
targeting them as soon as we can from when they arrive from Asia
to here," says Flint. "We're going to be on the ground in front
of the bird migration waiting for the birds to arrive." Along
with Izenbek Wildlife Refuge manager Sandra Siekaniec of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other federal and state
agencies, Flint's assignment is to identify the first infected
birds carrying the virus from Asia during the spring migration,
and to sound the alarm. "Alaska is one of the forefronts where
it is most likely to arrive first because of its unique position
as a crossroads of two international flyways: one on the Asian
side of things and the oth