Pass highways see rise in bird kills

STEVENS PASS — Search for some digestive help has led to the deaths of an unusually large number of birds along mountain highways this winter.

Entire flocks of finches and other small seed-eating birds pecking for grit have been turned to roadkill by snowplows and other vehicles.

Heather Murphy, a retired U.S. Forest Service wildlife biologist and consultant for the Wenatchee and Okanogan National Forest, said she noticed the problem while conducting bird studies for a Leavenworth volunteer birding group, the Upper Basin Birders.

Murphy said volunteers found three areas of roadkill finches Saturday on U.S. 2 between Mill Creek and Smithbrook Road a half-mile west of the Stevens Pass summit. She said they found small numbers of birds, fewer than a dozen at each site, although greater numbers were reported earlier in the winter.

Dan Stephens, a Wenatchee Valley College biology professor, said the problem is unusual and quite severe this year, especially along U.S. 2 near Stevens Pass and I-90 near Snoqualmie Pass.

“The finches are mainly attracted to the grit on and along the highway,” Stephens wrote in an e-mail. In the process of picking up the grit needed to aid their digestion of seeds, they ingest salt and other deicer chemicals used to keep the roads free of ice, he said. “The chemicals cause disorientation and sluggishness resulting in ‘grill birds.’ It’s a sad story.”

The state Department of Transportation uses a liquid magnesium salt deicer as well as calcium chloride salt on mountain highways to control buildup of ice and snow. “Grill birds” refers to birds that are hit by oncoming vehicles.

“I was stunned and horrified. It’s terrible,” said Derek Sheffield, a Wenatchee Valley College English professor and avid birdwatcher. Sheffield said he was cross-country skiing near Stevens Pass recently when he noticed that the snowbank along U.S. 2 was blackened by some sort of litter. On closer inspection, he found the litter to be dead birds. He said there were hundreds of pine siskins, a tiny brown bird that feeds on seeds and cones of alpine vegetation.

Sheffield, of Leavenworth, said he started talking to other birders in the area and found out there have been many reports of huge numbers of birds killed along U.S. 2 between Stevens Pass and Leavenworth.

The state Department of Transportation is aware of the problem, but isn’t sure what can be done, said Kelly McAllister, a Transportation Department biologist in Olympia.

McAllister said he’s been studying the situation to try to understand why large numbers of birds are on the highway. He believes an unusually large number of finches stayed in the area through the winter because of an abundant crop of pinecones this year.

The finches feed on the seeds from the cones, but they need to also ingest small pebbles and grit to help break down the seeds in their gizzards before the seeds pass to their stomachs. The sand on the road is a good source of grit, especially in this particularly snowy year when there are few patches of bare ground to be found at high elevations, he said.

McAllister said he’s not sure whether it’s the road grit found in the sand or the salt from the deicer that’s attracting the birds, nor does he know for sure why the birds aren’t flying off before a vehicle comes along and hits them.

“I’ve only been here a year, but people tell me they haven’t seen this problem before, at least not in the past several years,” he said. McAllister said the agency will study the problem but he doesn’t know what alternatives there are to the salt products that are as efficient at keeping the highways clear.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.