February 15, 2017
"Dozens of dead owls have been reported by drivers along Interstate-84 in southern Idaho making for an eerie stretch of road."
"It almost looks like they fell from the sky"... but there's "a simple explanation," according to the Idaho Fish and Game spokesman. There are mice along the interstate, the owls go for them, and the cars — going 85 miles an hour — hit the owls.
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32 comments:
Trucks blow roadside owls into the path of the next car.
Any windmills in the area?
I'd rather hit an owl over a deer.
Still, the deer in my area are starting to learn (you'd think that the last 100 years of cars would have been a severe evolutionary pressure--only the smart deer survive the Buicks).
I was driving a year or so ago, stopped at the stop sign. Herd of deer to my right, wanting to cross the road. I literally saw the lead deer look both ways to check for traffic before bounding across the road, followed by the herd.
I was amazed. I hope that deer reproduces a lot, and is a very good teacher.
--Vance
Driver: "I saw who killed your friend."
Owl: "Who?"
Evolution will produce faster owls.
I'm sure Trump had something to do with it.
Unknown said... [hush][hide comment]
I'd rather hit an owl over a deer.
Still, the deer in my area are starting to learn (you'd think that the last 100 years of cars would have been a severe evolutionary pressure--only the smart deer survive the Buicks).
Hiway departments should move deer crossings to safer area.
You would think you would notice hitting an owl at 85 mph. I noticed when I hit a butterfly at 40. True, the butterfly splattered its innards all over the windshield, but nonetheless I noticed.
So does this mean that the mice are using the cars as anti-aircraft cover?
You would think you would notice hitting an owl at 85 mph
As I was driving a very lonely highway in NV last year, I came upon a bloated bull neatly severed with half the carcass on each side of the highway. Probably a big rig hit it. The truck had to have incurred some damage but there was no sign of it.
Static Ping said...
You would think you would notice hitting an owl at 85 mph. I noticed when I hit a butterfly at 40. True, the butterfly splattered its innards all over the windshield, but nonetheless I noticed.
The biggest bird I ever hit was a pheasant. I saw it fly up in front of me and swerved to avoid hitting it in the middle of my windshield (I was afraid it would've broken through). I hit it at the corner of my windshield and my whole van shook. Luckily, there was no damage to my van but I saw that pheasant tumbling in pieces in my mirror.
You would think you would notice hitting an owl at 85 mph
A pheasant nearly got revenge for its relatives that I had bagged over the years. It was many years ago and I was driving from Chicago to Spokane WA. I had stopped for the night at an aunt's in Milbank SD. In those days, I usually would rive starting at 4 AM and quit about 4 PM. That morning I was driving about 100 mph between Milbank and Aberdeen.
A pheasant started to fly across the road but hit my windshield just above my face and bounced over the top of the car.
Had it been 6 inches lower, my story would have ended there. More pheasants are killed by cars in SD than by hunters.
The windshield was shattered but did not collapse.
We had a pheasant fly through a triple-pane window, through the bedroom, the hall, and into anther bedroom. Had I not seen it, I wouldn't have believed it. Made a hell of a mess and the pheasant was too full of glass to eat. [Gives new meaning to 'pheasant under glass'].
I assume the owls would be lower, not flying.
Nighthawk must've taken the night off.
Any owl's death diminishes me, because I am resolved to give owls the right of way, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee. Instead, send for the Highway Patrol to enforce the speed limit.
Years ago I spent a summer in Idaho. An elderly couple driving a giant American sedan on a desert highway hit a deer at 80 mph; the state patrol said the deer smashed through the front windshield, passed fully through the passenger compartment, and exited through the rear window, all without seriously injuring the couple (they had multiple cuts from the shattered glass but no impact injuries).
So the crows must be wiser than the owls. Of course the owls are a tad more preoccupied. The crows just sit back perched on the telephone wires waiting for the carnage to happen.
Are these endangered owls? Laws are needed to lower the night speed limit to 30 mph, cars must be equipped with and use continuously sounding loud auditory warning devices and flashing strobe lights.
I seriously doubt the owls are in flight when hit. It is far more likely that the owls are eating carrion from the roadway.
Heavy snow this year after several milder winters might have something to do with it. With the recent thaw I expect the owls can hunt the fields again.
An big owl hit mr driving south on I95 last year. At 75mph it put a $250 dent in my surf van.
Reminds me of the problem with dead crows on the highway around Boston. Crows are very smart and when they gather to eat roadkill they assign lookout duty to warn the rest of oncoming cars. Problem is that Boston crows can say "caw! caw!" but have not mastered "truck! Truck!"
You're welcome.
Sure, we know the real story.
Earnest Prole said...
Years ago I spent a summer in Idaho.
You have recovered?
Owen said...
Problem is that Boston crows can say "caw! caw!" but have not mastered "truck! Truck!"
Why didn't they call "Fly!" "Fly!"
Even if the owl was on the ground, you would notice. I hit a chipmunk and noticed. Of course, I was driving a mid-size car at the time and it was more of a pothole bump than anything else, but I noticed.
Crows can be clever beasts, but the dumbest animal I ever saw was a crow. There was a dead critter in the middle of a fairly busy street and the crow had gone down to pick at it, which was pretty dumb to begin with. A car comes towards the spot, the crow starts to fly away, the driver of the car sees the crow and stops, the crow aborts takeoff and continues to scavenge. The driver then continued forward slowly, probably on the assumption that the crow would now move. The bird looked up at the last second to provide a beak meets bumper moment at roughly 5 mph, complete with a nice thud. Crow comically falls flat on its back, wings stretched out, legs stiff and pointing straight up in the air just like in the cartoons. I did not remain on the scene to determine if the bird survived. It was possible it was merely stunned, but in its location that made it a speed bump.
On our way to dinner at a lakeside restaurant, a hen turkey flew low across the road and hit the front of our car, committing suicide. When we arrived at the restaurant, we noticed the grille was slightly broken, and, inside it lay one lone turkey egg, completely intact, but soft and damp.
We also had a Snowy Owl land dazed in our backyard, apparently the victim of a car or truck hit. I brought it water, but it didn't respond, and later succumbed to its injuries there in our yard.
In these terrorist attacks, an entire parliament was killed.
J. K. Rowling might have a theory.
You have recovered?
Idaho? You da ho.
Over 50 hit & dead by vehicles over a weekend. No one reported hitting a owl?
I see no blood. All are on the side of the road & possibly have " broken necks, to me. Sketchy.
Over 50 hit & dead by vehicles over a weekend. No one reported hitting a owl?
I see no blood. All are on the side of the road & possibly have " broken necks, to me. Sketchy.
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