There was an unusual sight behind a shopping plaza in the Town of Wallkill — dozens of dead crows — and it's now prompting state officials to suspect avian flu.

Viewers began calling News 12 this week after spotting large numbers of dead birds on the ground and in trees behind the Price Chopper, Crunch Fitness, and other nearby businesses along Schutt Road.

One man who works in the area described the scene as unsettling.

“It’s very terrifying at night,” Simon Kahn said. “It’s like they’re at war. You come back in the morning and there are just dead birds.”

He added that the number of dead crows appears to have increased over time.

“Last year you’d see one or two,” he said. “Now it’s just a bunch of them.”

The number of birds involved, estimated to be in the dozens, is sometimes referred to as a “murder of crows,” a term commonly used to describe a large group of crows. In this case, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation say the deaths are believed to be linked to avian flu.

The DEC says people contacted the agency last month about the dead birds, and several crows were collected for testing. The DEC says avian flu continues to be detected in wild birds across New York State.

Local officials say crows tend to congregate in this area because of dumpsters behind the plaza, which may help explain why so many birds were found in one location.

Marie Ullrich, with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orange County, says the large number of birds in a concentrated area can make the situation appear alarming, even if it is not statistically unusual.

“It just happens that this is a huge population in a small area, so we’re seeing a lot of dead bodies,” Ullrich said. “I don’t think statistically it’s an anomaly.”

Ullrich says people can help reduce the risk of spreading avian flu by taking simple precautions, including keeping bird feeders and shared water sources clean, moving feeders away from homes, and being especially careful if they have backyard chickens or small flocks.

Most importantly, she said, people should not touch sick or dead birds.

“Don’t be touching dead birds,” Ullrich said. “There’s 900 reasons for that, and highly pathogenic avian influenza is only one. Stay away.”

The DEC urges residents to keep pets away from dead wildlife and to report large numbers of dead birds through the state’s reporting system.

More information about avian flu and steps people can take to protect birds and prevent the spread of the virus can be found through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.