Andrew,
There's a very good chance that you saved that bird's life. In my limited experience, many birds and other animals will sustain a slightly stunning concussion or less from crossing paths with a car's windshield. They'll end up on the road, gathering their senses and may fly off, unless another car bears down on them.
While birding in Arizona, my wife and I were driving our VW Eurovan along a two lane highway near Organ Pipe Cactus NM. A Wilson's Warbler, not unlike the Mejiro (White-eye) in general appearance, color and size, crossed paths with the upper corner of our slanted windshield. Still retaining our reflexes from our wildlife rescue training, we turned around to go back and see if there was anything we could do. We expected to find a warm carcass on the road. To our surprise, the bird was alive and didn't struggle or fly off when we picked it up. Seeking a warm, dark enclosure, my wife tucked the bird gently into her bra. We stopped at the closed visitors center and placed the bird on a perch in the scrub. We watched it for about 15 min. and it held firm. We returned the next day and could not find the bird, nor any feather remains from predation. While there, a Wilson's Warbler descended through a tree toward us, then flew off. Now there weren't many of this species in the area, and, yes, we like to think that it was the same bird returning to show us that it was okay.
Another occasion, driving through the Santa Cruz Mtns. near our CA home, we came across a badger laying in the roadway. It had obviously been hit by a car. It was motionless, and my wife always moves roadkill off the road out of respect (and for another reason stated below). She moved it to one side, but decided that it was not far enough off the road. So, she picked it up again and started across to the other side when it moved in her grasp! My wife nearly soiled her pants because she was well aware of how powerful badgers are! It turned out that it was momentarily stunned, and had no externally visible injuries. We placed it well-off the road, into the forest and put a blanket over it. We checked on it twice a day (it was along our commute) bringing catfood and water. By the fourth day, it had moved about 10 ft. and it was gone on our second checkin with no signs of predation.
On another late night returning home, we found a Western Screech-Owl in the middle of the road. I've often seen these little owls swooping in front of the car at night along these mountain roads. This one was not able to get away from me as I picked it up with my jacket; they have talons like a hawk and can really rip hands up if you're not careful. We kept it overnight, and, the next day, took it to a friend who rehabbed raptors. She nursed it back to good health and released it in the same spot that we found it.
This is a long way to say that the first hit by a car may not kill an animal, but the second one, while the critter is sitting there dazed, surely will. Good job, Andrew!
In CA, there are other reasons to move roadkill off the roadway. Carrion feeders, like Turkey Vultures, ravens and crows, might be at risk if they feed in the road. Road crews will pickup large carcasses (deer) and take them to a rendering plant. From there they end up in pet food, as do the dead animals from veterinary hospitals. If you know anything about Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE, or BSE in cattle, aka "Mad Cow Disease"
, it's a bad idea to feed processed animals to other animals. It's very different if the carcasses are left in the wild to be selectively eaten, or not. I don't think the same kind of cycle exists in Hawaii with highway cleanup or veterinarians and rendering plants (are there any here?)
Les
Edited by - Les C on 09/27/2006 21:41:23
