Hello Community,
Thanks for the interesting series of posts. Pete, this is exactly where my thinking went- if there are specific problem areas for birds in Winter on roads, there could be wider plowed areas or specific non-parking, plowed areas with grit and salts with the additional possibility of salts feeders. Most importantly it could help a lot of birds and decrease Winter mortality. In addition, as a bonus, it might provide for many, close looks at Winter species at predictable times and locations for birders and researchers.
WSDOT would probably not have funding to widen the snow plowed areas on all roads, but if we could identify limited, selected areas we may be able to persuade them to do so.
Has anyone actually tried putting salts and grit out in snow covered areas to see if the birds find and use them?
Thanks,
Dan
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pete Fahey" <peterfahey at comcast.net>
To: notcalm at comcast.net, tweeters at u.washington.edu
Cc: "Dennis Paulson" <dennispaulson at comcast.net>, "Janet Millard" <tilia at drizzle.com>
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2010 7:22:17 AM
Subject: RE: [Tweeters] Re: What did the birds do in cold weather before any paved roads
Hi folks: FWIW, I spent 15 years in upstate New York, where winter snow is common and dealt with efficiently. We used to enjoy birding the byroads, because there were tons of sparrows, larks, buntings, and longspurs at the roadside, not off in the fields. I think the difference here is that WDOT and local road crews clear a just path on the roadway, while in the Northeast and Mid-west, they plow both the roads and shoulders, so the birds are not in so much jeopardy. I am constantly amazed how unprepared they are to deal with snow out here.
Pete Fahey
Issaquah, WA
From: tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of notcalm at comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2010 6:38 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Cc: Dennis Paulson; Janet Millard
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Re: What did the birds do in cold weather before any paved roads
Hello group.
These posts now have my attention. Do others have thoughts and reports on similar mass deaths?
I certainly enjoy viewing birds. Perhaps some of us can think about what we can do if this turns out to be a significant problem.
We have a lot of creative problem solvers in the group. If there are patterns to the locations and history of events I would like to know more about them.
Janet, I have attached your post so that others can follow the conversation.
Thanks,
Dan Reiff
----- Original Message -----
From: "Janet Millard" <tilia at drizzle.com>
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2010 12:18:20 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Re: Birds sitting on the road in rural Eastern Washington
The event described below was all to common to us residents of Leavenworth
and surrounding areas a few years back. Hundreds of siskins, finches, and
possibly crossbills were clobbered all winter long, mostly along the
section of Stevens Pass from Mill Valley nordic center to Yodelin. We
sent our reports to WSDOT who did some analysis - and biologists from
USFS, USFWS, & WDFW all chimed in. The conclusion we came to was that
these seed-eating birds needed grit to process the seeds in their crop,
and the snow that year was amazingly deep. Without a "natural" source of
grit they turned to the roads. The problem was the salty material that
was sprayed on the roads to reduce the icing for safe travel. The salt
was injested along with the grit, causing a sort of "salt poisoning". The
birds OD'd on salt and were mentally/physiologically incapacitated to the
point that they were not able to avoid being killed by cars. Entire
flocks were sometimes killed with new flocks seen foraging for grit among
the dead. Tragic and heartbreaking.
Janet Millard
Leavenworth, WA
(USFS wildlife bio tech)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dennis Paulson" <dennispaulson at comcast.net>
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2010 1:37:15 PM
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Re: What did the birds do in cold weather before any paved roads
Dan and tweeters,
Having worked in museums for all of my adult years, I can tell you that grit-eating birds are among the most common road kills received by museums as salvaged birds. Doves, pigeons, gallinaceous birds, and Horned Larks all feed on or at the edge of roads, as none of them crack seeds with their bills in the way that finches do, so they need the gravel to aid doing so in their stomach. I think corvids probably are similar, and when you see jays out at the edge of the road in forested areas early in the morning, I suspect they are getting grit, true or otherwise.
Thus I don't think putting out a few grit feeders will alleviate the problem, as it's happening all along our roadways. I don't know if there are any recommendations we could be giving to state Departments of Transportation, but someone might look into that.
The feeding of crossbills, siskins, grosbeaks and other winter finches along the highways, sometimes a great source of mortality, is probably not for grit but for some mineral(s) on the road, possibly even the salt put out by road departments. Fortunately that's a rare event.
Swallows sometimes land on roads in great numbers, and that's another thing altogether. That may even have to do with retained heat on the road surface.
Traffic on roads certainly represents significant mortality to birds and other animals, but other than very local fixes (tunnels for large mammals, special herp crossings in some very few areas), I don't think much has been done to alleviate it, and it's hard to imagine how such mortality can be reduced for birds. Very wide clearings along roads in forested areas probably keep small birds off the roads but also represent barriers to dispersal. Fewer and slower vehicles, anyone?
Dennis
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