Thanks, Scott.


It seems the problem is not limited to these two species.
If the primary reason to approach and land on or next to the road is a search for grit and more so than or not heat, perhaps we can arrange for certain small, off road, non- parking areas to be cleared for that purpose. Grit would certainly be easy to add. It might be an interesting experiment in mountain passes, if grit is not readily available in snow covered areas. It would be the equivalent of a small, protected area with ground level bird feeder (true grit only). The gulls on the other hand(great photo) are probably not looking for grit.


However, I do not know if it is a significant problem. Does anyone have estimates of mortality for these situations? Perhaps it is rare.
Have any of you supplied grit in a small area in your yard?


Dan Reiff
----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott R a y" <mryakima at gmail.com>
To: "Tweeters" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 12:48:55 AM
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Re: What did the birds do in cold weather before any paved roads

> 2. What did the birds do in cold weather before any paved roads were
> contracted?

Before there were roads in Washington (and most other states) there
were no Ring-necked Pheasants nor Gray Partridges. Both species were
introduced well after roads had been built.


Scott R
Yakima, WA
mryakima at gmail dot com







On Wed, Dec 15, 2010 at 12:27 AM, <notcalm at comcast.net> wrote:
> Hello group,
> Questions:
> 1. How many birds do you all estimate we lose each Winter to this type of
> bird death?
> 2. What did the birds do in cold weather before any paved roads were
> contracted?
> 3. Is there something we can do to provide the birds with safe areas to
> congregate during long spells of cold weather and snow, given that we have
> provided an attractive nuisance? (Hey, believe me, I am glad we made the
> roads so that I can travel to see the birds, but maybe there is something we
> can do to prevent this unintended consequence of our human actvities.)
> 4. Has anyone found anything that works?
> Thanks,
> Dan Reiff
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: vogelfreund at comcast.net
> To: "Bill Anderson" <billandersonbic at yahoo.com>
> Cc: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 11:28:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Re: Birds sitting on the road in rural
> Eastern Washington
>
> Hi,
>
> Black-top asphalt roads retain warmth. In other states, rattlesnakes and
> cattle (Mexico), for example, like to lie on the roads, causing accidents.
> When I was in Korea in the early 1960's, I almost ran over several humans
> (farmers or etc.) who were lying on the warm road late at night out in the
> country.
>
> Phil Hotlen
> Bellingham, WA
> ----------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bill Anderson" <billandersonbic at yahoo.com>
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 9:45:07 PM
> Subject: [Tweeters] Re: Birds sitting on the road in rural Eastern
> Washington
>
> Were the surrounding fields snow covered? If so, the birds may have been
> attracted to the road because it was bare. Perhaps the birds were attracted
> to the road for warmth, as pavement retains heat better than soil.
> Bill Anderson; Edmonds, WA.
>
> ________________________________
> From: ECollins <circle2square at yahoo.com>
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Sent: Tue, December 14, 2010 5:28:45 PM
> Subject: [Tweeters] Birds sitting on the road in rural Eastern Washington
>
> While visiting a friend in Reardan, WA, west of Spokane she mentioned that
> last Wednesday there were Ring-necked Pheasants sitting on her rural road
> (during the day) and she was unable to stop before hitting the male. Then
> later the same night on the same road she hit a flock of Gray Partridges
> which were flushed from the other lane into hers by oncoming traffic and,
> unable to stop or swerve, she killed several of them. It was horrible for
> her and we would very much like to know why she's never seen these birds
> sitting on her road in the six years she has lived there. They feel
> confident no one released game birds, the weather wasn't particularly bad
> for that area, and the birds were not near clusters of trees and wet areas.
> They drive the road nearly every day so it was really unusual behavior.
>
> Elizabeth Collins
> NE Portland
>
>
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