week of 2/27/02
 
 
 


Median plantings pose risk to birds
By Don Hendershot
When North Carolina Department of Transportation workers planted Fosters Holly 10 years ago in the median of U.S. 74 at exit 74 (Cherokee exit) in Jackson County, they didn’t realize they were creating an avian death trap.

The median planting at exit 74 was designed to control erosion and to camouflage the bulwarks supporting the overpass. Fosters Holly seemed to be the perfect application and is, in fact, recommended by various agencies across the South for highway medians.

On Monday, Feb. 18, during his regular commute, Bryson City resident Bob Ferguson noticed the activity in the median and dead birds along the shoulder of the highway. On Tuesday Ferguson returned and counted 50 dead birds. To document the problem, he took a series of photographs, which are posted on the Internet at www.watrnc.org/start.html. Ferguson then started contacting DOT officials and the media.

According to a University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service report, “Fosters Holly reaches 15 to 25 feet in height with a spread of eight to 12 feet, creating a dense, pyramidal silhouette.” While the report touts Fosters Holly as an “outstanding tree” and recommends it for median planting, it does allude to one potential drawback: “Fruit characteristics: attracts birds....”

The dense succulent red berries are irresistible to area flocks of overwintering cedar waxwings and robins. Space is really constricted due to the overpass above and two lanes of traffic as near as eight to 10 feet. Flocks of birds either accessing the berries or flushed from the median are at the mercy of the 65 mph traffic.

Ferguson said he spoke with Richard Queen, N.C. DOT roadside environmental engineer for District 14 which includes Jackson County. Queen’s unit is responsible for sedimentation and erosion control and highway beautification.

Ferguson said he “was impressed by (Queen’s) concern.”

Ferguson said the incident piqued his curiosity, and he drove from Bryson City to Asheville surveying the median plantings and found no other similar situations.

“What would make me happy would be for DOT to remove those hollies,” Ferguson said.

SMN surveyed the scene on Thursday, Feb. 21, and discovered 27 dead birds — 20 cedar waxwings and seven robins. Counting traffic for 15 minutes from 10:45 to 11:00 a.m., 124 vehicles passed.

On Friday, Feb. 22, SMN returned to see how many birds had been killed in that 24-hour period. Queen was also at the scene. The mortality for that 24-hour period was six cedar waxwings and one robin.

Queen said until Ferguson called earlier in the week, DOT was not aware of any problem at the overpass.

“We were glad to be made aware. If we have created a problem here, we certainly want to fix it,” Queen said.

Queen, who admittedly didn’t want to cut the trees if there was any other recourse, said DOT had been discussing alternatives such as plant growth regulators. He said the regulators might cut down berry production. After surveying the site, seeing the dead birds and watching the birds’ behavior, he wasn’t convinced the regulators would work. He noted there were safety concerns for drivers as well as birds.

Queen said he would meet with DOT’s area engineer, Ed Ingle, this week to make them aware of the problem and seek a solution.

Virginia’s DOT was faced with a similar problem in the Richmond area that was created by median plantings of an ornamental shrub. They decided the best alternative was removal, and they began removing shrubs in January of this year.

Another program being initiated across the state of North Carolina by DOT’s roadside environmental unit, the Monarch Butterfly Program, might bear further consideration in light of the dangers to wildlife.

This program is designed to add species of milkweed (a host plant for monarchs) to the wildflower mix along North Carolina’s highways and interstates. The idea is to help bolster the declining monarch population.

Queen acknowledged that District 14 was participating in the Monarch Butterfly Program.