South Australia has reported seven new suspected cases of H5 bird flu in greater crested terns — a common coastal seabird — found along the state's Limestone Coast, prompting experts to warn that the disease may now be spreading through local bird populations rather than arriving only with migratory visitors. The birds were discovered near Cape Jaffa, Southend Jetty, and Port MacDonnell, close to the Victorian border, and if confirmed by national research body CSIRO would bring South Australia's total to 14 cases, ten of them in local terns. Authorities stressed there have been no detections in poultry or agricultural systems and that the risk to human health remains low, but conservationists warned that the approaching spring breeding season — when large coastal colonies gather — could significantly accelerate the virus's spread into other species and habitats.