Sometimes, when I have time & traffic is not too busy, I stop the car & take fresher roadkill off pavement & put it well away from roadside & shoulder. So carrion eaters can consume it in safety. Good advice on careful driving, Dave, but perhaps you are preaching to the choir!😋
Donna Scott Sent from my iPhone > On Mar 13, 2016, at 8:27 AM, Dave Nutter <nutter.d...@me.com> wrote: > > This past Wednesday I had an encounter with one of the Spencer Marsh birds. > At 6:45am while driving south on NYS-34/96 I was just coming back up from > under the railroad when I saw an adult Bald Eagle gliding down toward my lane > from the east. Fortunately the driver ahead of me also noticed in time, and > we both braked. The eagle was able to abort its landing, rising up into view > again. It turned back toward the marsh where it perched in a tree. Continuing > driving, the other driver and I straddled what attracted the eagle, a > road-killed muskrat, I believe. In the next couple hundred yards there were a > recently hit rabbit and another substantial meal as well. In addition to the > deaths of several medium-sized mammals there could have easily been more > serious tragedy: the loss of a Bald Eagle, considerable damage to a vehicle, > and possibly a serious car crash. > > A word to the wise: Please don’t speed or tailgate. Stay alert. Be ready to > brake for wildlife or in case another driver does. I have found that often > just letting up on the gas pedal is enough to alert a crossing animal and > give it time to pass in front of me so that I don’t kill it. Swerving is > generally not a good idea. Often mammals are killed just past a rise in > pavement where they can’t see or hear oncoming traffic in time. I think it’s > a good idea to be alert for such places along roads to avoid killing > critters, running over dead critters, or hitting the animals which eat dead > critters. To me it’s worth a bit of care to observe wildlife. After all, a > skunk is a lot prettier walking away than smeared on the wheels and > undercarriage. And a Turkey Vulture is magnificent in flight and a service to > everyone on the ground, but not what you want coming through the windshield. > > —Dave Nutter > > > >> On Mar 12, 2016, at 6:09 PM, Geo Kloppel <geoklop...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Patricia and I did a car trip, visiting swamps from West Danby to Spencer, >> Van Etten, Alpine, Cayuta Lake (the NYS boat launch), Trumbull Corners and >> Newfield, hoping we might run into some Rusty Blackbirds. Struck out on >> those, but I thought It worth mentioning that a Bald Eagle is already >> sitting the nest in North Spencer Marsh. >> >> -Geo >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> -- >> >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME >> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES >> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm >> >> ARCHIVES: >> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html >> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds >> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html >> >> Please submit your observations to eBird: >> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ >> >> -- > > > -- > > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm > > ARCHIVES: > 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html > 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds > 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html > > Please submit your observations to eBird: > http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ > > -- > -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --