An army of citizen scientists is testing migratory wild birds around Australia’s massive coastline for signs of the H5N1 avian flu, with biosecurity agencies on high alert to keep Australia free from the highly damaging virus.

Ahead of the return of millions of birds that have travelled thousands of kilometres across infected regions along the east-Asia flyway, agriculture, health, veterinary, communication and wildlife teams have completed three dress rehearsals in preparation for an outbreak this spring.