Expressway Mammals and Birds

     Many people travel on expressways in the Mid-Atlantic States through the year.  And whether they are seen or not by those people, at least a few kinds of adaptable mammals and birds regularly feed along the broad edges and large clover leafs of those major highways.  Grasses and other vegetation in those human-made habitats feed those creatures, and, indirectly, the critters that prey on the plant eaters through the seasons.  And there these animals have ample shelter; and life, as long as they stay off the highways.
     White-tailed deer, including fawns, are often seen browsing on twigs or grazing on grass along the shoulders of expressways in wooded areas, mostly at dusk, but any time of day. 
     Drivers must be careful these large animals don't cross the roads in front of vehicles.  Deer are particularly dangerous in November, the peak of their breeding season.  Seeing green eye shine in the edge of vegetation along roads at dusk and at night indicates the presence of deer.
     Wood chucks are common in the grassy shoulders and clover leafs along major roads.  These large rodents nibble grass and other plants during the day and spend nights in relative safety in burrows they dig into the ground.  A bit bigger than house cats and much chunkier, chucks are brown all over and fight fiercely when cornered.  They fatten during warmer months and sleep in their dens through much of the winter, living on stored fat.  Some of their abandoned tunnels are used by red foxes, striped skunks, cottontail rabbits and other mammals. 
     Cottontail rabbits emerge from hiding places in roadside weeds and shrubbery, mostly at dusk and into the night, to ingest grass and other plants.  These mammals are often overlooked by passing motorists because they are small, camouflaged and stick tight to cover.
     Lots of field voles live under vegetation along expressways.  The plants there get mowed occasionally, but never plowed, allowing the mice to be established.  Voles eat grass seeds, weed seeds, berries and greens where they live along the highways.  They make grassy nests under the matted vegetation and their circuitous runways under snow are visible when the snow melts away.   
     Canada geese usually are the most obvious of animals along expressways.  Bugling flocks of them often land on roadside shoulders and clover leafs to graze on grass.  Canadas in the air and on short grass by expressways are just as stately as those in more natural habitats. 
     Groups of rock pigeons and pairs of mourning doves land here and there along expressways to ingest bits of gravel that help their muscular stomachs grind the seeds they ate.  The seeds and gravel turn together, and, with strong stomach juices, the seeds are broken down for digestion.
     Gangs of starlings commonly drop to roadsides to rapidly probe their beaks into soil  under the short grasses and other vegetation to eat invertebrates.  Their bills resemble the up and down motion of sewing machine needles, as do the beaks of sandpipers poking into sand or mud.       
     Two kinds of diurnal raptors, red-tailed hawks and American kestrels, feed on voles along the expressways through the year.  The red-tails occasionally catch a rabbit and the kestrels take grasshoppers and other large insects in summer.  These common hawks are often spotted perched on trees as they watch for prey, particularly in winter.  And, entertainingly to us, kestrels also hover into the wind as they watch the ground for victims.
     These mammals and birds make the edges of expressways more interesting for riders.  And the species involved have additional homes and banquet tables, which helps bolster their populations.