Three neighbors found the birds on and around their property, and only one neighbor, Sam Torrisi found two birds in his backyard near his goats. He immediately called the Vector Control District, which instructed him to place one of the birds in two plastic bags and store it in the freezer until a vector control worker could pick it up and bring it back for testing.

Torrisi placed the other bird in two plastic bags and buried it. In this case burying the dead bird is safe, according to Kriss Costa, community education specialist from Vector Control District. She also said it's safe to place dead birds in two plastic bags and throw them away.

Torrisi said he believes vector control should spray in Almaden the way it sprayed in District 2 a few weeks ago.

But Costa said the district probably won't spray in Almaden because it reacts more to infected mosquitoes than infected birds the district is more concerned with infected mosquitoes. The dead birds aren't a threat to humans as infected mosquitoes are.

The spraying that took place in District 2 was a result of a concentration of infected mosquitoes, not birds, that were found in the area.

Costa said vector control is keeping a close watch on the types of birds that are dying, and noted that more dead crows were found in the beginning of the mosquito season whereas more dead blue jays are being found toward the end of the season. She said she doesn't know why the blue jays are dying later in the season.

In the meantime, Torrisi and his neighbors are taking precautions. "We're making sure we are protected when we go outside, but it's not a pleasant thought," Betty MacCleod, a Graystone Lane resident, said. MacCleod added that she and her husband keep bug repellent in their shed to use when they are outdoors. MacCleod also said seven birds seemed like a lot to be found in her neighborhood.