EXPRESSWAY WILDLIFE

      Whenever we drive on expressways in the Middle Atlantic States, I watch for wild birds and mammals on the grassy shoulders of those broad highways, and in the air above them.  And I always see at least a few adaptable species on every trip.  

     All species appear to be used to the traffic whizzing by.  Each kind has a reason for being near those expressways that are potentially dangerous to wildlife.  And those critters add interesting life where we don't think it would exist. 

     It's exciting to see flocks of majestic Canada geese feeding on short grass in expressway cloverleafs where they are away from speeding traffic.  And it's thrilling to see their airborne, bugling gatherings parachuting down to those grassy cloverleafs to feed.

     Flocks of post-breeding starlings land on the edges of expressways and their cloverleafs to get food.  They quickly walk about and rapidly poke their sturdy beaks among roadside gravel and short grass to pick up seeds, invertebrates, and edibles tossed from car windows.  All those tidbits are readily ingested.

     I often see turkey vultures and crows soaring and flying respectively over expressways the year around.  And, sometimes, I spot a few of each kind along an expressway, but off the pavement, feeding on an animal that was killed on the road.   

     Sometimes, particularly in winter, I'll notice a stately red-tailed hawk, or two, or more, perched in trees along expressways.  They, of course, are watching for mice in the roadside grass.   

     I'm often excited to see handsome, graceful white-tailed deer of both genders and all ages grazing on grass along expressways.  Though fairly large, deer are not always easy to notice because they are brown and camouflaged.    

     Wood chucks live in burrows they dig in the soil along expressways.  Like deer, they graze on roadside grass.  But chucks only eat from early March to early November, when they put on fat.  They hibernate down their burrows in winter.

     Wild rock pigeons live and raise young on supports under bridges over expressways, where the chicks are relatively safe from weather and predators.  Groups of these pretty birds perch, at times, on wires above the expressways, where they are often spotted.

     Pigeons feed on weed and grass seeds, and grain lying in fields after harvests.  They feed pre-digested seeds and grain to their young in their grass nurseries.

     These adaptable creatures help entertain riders on trips on expressways.  And these species demonstrate how adaptable wildlife can be.  Each kind has a banquet table or a home in a human-made niche.