Tuesday, August 7, my wife and I saw the aftermath of a striking mass
mortality of Bank Swallows in eastern Washington. The locality was along
Danekas Rd adjacent to the northeast corner of Sprague Lake, just west of
Sprague, Lincoln County. Bank Swallows are common in this area, lining
power lines in large numbers. But in one spot, on a section of the paved
road about 100 feet long, there were an estimated 200 dead Bank Swallows on
the pavement, in both lanes of the road but not on the shoulders. No dead
birds at all were seen outside this very localized area.

With the bodies confined to the pavement, I have to assume that the
mortalities were caused by cars. But why this one very localized spot, and
why such large numbers of dead birds?

Dave Nunnallee
dnun461 at ecy.wa.gov
Bellevue, WA