Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses of the H5 subtype, originating from the A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 (GsGd) lineage, have been circulating continuously in poultry in south-east Asia since 1997 and have also been detected frequently in wild birds [1]. In 2014, a new HPAI H5N8 virus of this GsGd lineage of clade 2.3.4.4 emerged globally. This first intercontinental wave of HPAI H5N8 started with virus detections in south-east Asia from early 2014 onwards in both poultry and wild birds [2-4]. By the end of 2014, this HPAI H5N8 virus simultaneously spread to Europe and North America through long distance migratory birds [5]. In North America, the virus reassorted with local low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses causing a massive number of outbreaks and associated economical loss [6]. In Europe, this first wave caused a relative limited number of outbreaks in poultry holdings, and was detected in some wild birds between November 2014 and February 2015 [7,8]. During the spring and summer of 2015, occasional detections of HPAI H5N8 were reported in south-east Asia [9]. To assess the risk of virus re-introduction by wintering birds arriving in Europe by the autumn of 2015, intensified active surveillance (i.e. surveillance in living birds) was performed in the Netherlands from September to December 2015. This surveillance provided virological and serological evidence that the HPAI H5N8 virus had disappeared from the European (wintering) wild bird population with no virus detections in any of the tested birds and a decreased seroprevalence of HPAI H5 clade 2.3.4.4-specific antibodies, suggesting no massive viral replication in the 2015 breeding season [10].