Date: 7/2/26 12:04 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
I called the 509-309-8175 number above.They recommended emailing at
<info...> for a prompt reply and the automated message
suggested to contact WDFW for urgent issues.
WDFW 360-902-2200
I pressed #4 at their prompt to leave a message.
On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 9:07 PM Steve Hampton via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Contact WDFW as well. (509) 309-8175 Email us: <info...>
>
> They may be able to work with Dept of Transportation for a solution.
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 8:36 PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> Sounds terrible. Other than contacting some authority who prefers not to
>> be contacted, I guess the best thing to do is to document it thoroughly in
>> hopes of future remediation.. I queried Chat GPT, which confirmed your
>> analysis. Here is the response. There were photos supporting what you
>> report,, which I've had to delete because Tweeters don't accept them. Bob
>> OBrien Portland
>>
>> ChatGPT response.
>>
>> Yes. In fact, as I read the message, several details immediately rang a
>> bell. This is *not a new phenomenon*, although it does appear to be
>> unusually severe in some years.
>>
>>
>> The key point is that the explanation given—*road salt attracting
>> Evening Grosbeaks*—is considered the leading explanation by many
>> ornithologists and transportation biologists. It isn't just internet
>> speculation.
>>
>> Several independent sources document this:
>>
>> - Evening Grosbeaks, along with Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, and other
>> finches, are well known to congregate on salted roads where they pick up *salt
>> and small gravel (grit)* needed for digestion.
>> - Birds feeding on roads often become surprisingly reluctant to flush
>> and can appear almost tame or lethargic, leading to heavy mortality from
>> vehicles. Transportation researchers have even proposed studies to
>> determine whether excessive sodium itself contributes to this behavior.
>> - One documented case in British Columbia reported *at least 2,000
>> Evening Grosbeaks killed along only 16 km of highway*.
>>
>> The interesting part is that *Kelly McAllister of the Washington State
>> Department of Transportation* actually proposed research on exactly this
>> issue over a decade ago. The proposal notes that finches are periodically
>> drawn to salted roads, where many are crushed by vehicles, and that
>> transportation agencies need better information to develop mitigation
>> strategies.
>> Why this year?
>>
>> That's the million-dollar question.
>>
>> Several things probably have to line up:
>>
>> - A large local concentration of Evening Grosbeaks.
>> - Late snow or limited natural mineral sources.
>> - Fresh salt remaining on the pavement after winter.
>> - Dry pavement that makes the salt easy to find.
>> - The birds' seasonal need for grit and minerals.
>>
>> These "perfect storm" years may occur only occasionally, which explains
>> why someone could drive SR-20 for years without seeing anything like this.
>> Is road salt definitely the culprit?
>>
>> Probably—but with an important qualification.
>>
>> The birds are likely attracted to *both*:
>>
>> - sodium salts, and
>> - grit (small stones) that they swallow to grind seeds in the
>> gizzard.
>>
>> Those two often occur together on mountain highways.
>> What can actually be done?
>>
>> Simply banning road salt isn't necessarily practical. SR-20 crosses high
>> mountain passes, and road salt can greatly reduce serious accidents.
>>
>> More realistic mitigation measures might include:
>>
>> - sweeping residual salt and grit from shoulders after snow season,
>> - using alternative de-icers where feasible,
>> - identifying recurring "hot spots,"
>> - temporary warning signs during peak mortality,
>> - reduced speed limits through affected stretches,
>> - research into whether different de-icing materials reduce bird
>> attraction.
>>
>> Transportation biologists have been discussing these possibilities for
>> years, but there is still surprisingly little hard research.
>> One thing that caught my attention
>>
>> The writer says:
>>
>> "dead birds every few feet"
>>
>> If that is literally true over many miles, that represents *an
>> exceptionally large mortality event*, even by the standards of previous
>> reports. I would hope the state wildlife agency documents it.
>>
>> Given your birding background, I'd also be interested in one more
>> question: *Were they really all Evening Grosbeaks?* Large flocks of
>> finches can include Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, and Cassin's Finch in
>> the Cascades. An actual survey of the carcasses would tell us whether one
>> species is disproportionately affected.
>>
>> This is exactly the sort of event that organizations such as the Washington
>> Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology would
>> likely want documented if it is occurring on the scale described.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 7:45 PM via Tweeters <tweeters...>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Tweeters,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an
>>> absolute horror.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North
>>> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little
>>> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up
>>> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes
>>> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to
>>> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line,
>>> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting
>>> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible
>>> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have
>>> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I
>>> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several
>>> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn’t hit any birds, but it is
>>> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found
>>> out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that
>>> most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road
>>> salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is
>>> WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This
>>> is unacceptable.*
>>>
>>> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like
>>> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they
>>> didn’t respond.*
>>> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the
>>> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.*
>>> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Nikita*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>
>
> --
> Steve Hampton
> Port Townsend, WA (qatáy)
>
>
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