Having driven from UT this past month, I can attest that harriers and
buteos are regulars to the highway scene. Unfortunately, there were maybe a
dozen carcasses along the 2,000 mile journey. Not all have learned to avoid
the vehicular traffic...
On Mon, Apr 12, 2021 at 9:18 AM Lisa Mease <rvamedic@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
288 seems more likely than 95 or 64 since there’s so much open space on
either side and in the median. I did a quick scan of Harrier foraging and
feeding habits on birdsoftheworld.org (the new Birds of North America +
Handbook of Birds of the World merged website) and there’s nothing that
would explicitly rule out Harrier hunting near a highway. I also looked at
Cooper’s Hawk foraging and feeding since their puffed out undertail coverts
can give the appearance of a white rump, and that is a more unlikely
candidate for highway robbery.
Survival of the fittest: the birds who can adapt to the ever-changing
human landscape are the ones who live long enough to pass on their genes
and knowledge. 🤓
-Lisa
On Mon, Apr 12, 2021 at 08:22 Penn Miller <pennmiller1@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
As Larry Robinson once told me, you will find birds where birds can find
food, so your harrier sighting does not surprise me at all. I’m sure many
people on this mailing list have seen plenty of birds of prey along the
interstates in the Richmond area.
Penn Miller
*From:* va-richmond-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <
va-richmond-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> *On Behalf Of *Alyssa Freeman
*Sent:* Sunday, April 11, 2021 6:43 PM
*To:* va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [va-richmond-general] Harrier question
I saw a large brown hawk with white on the tail/rump pounce on something
in the median strip on 288 right as I was driving by that spot. Would a
Harrier do that on a busy highway?
Alyssa Freeman
Henrico
