As a cold front is expected to arrive in the Rio Grande Valley Saturday night into Sunday morning, officials are warning motorists traveling on Highway 48 between Brownsville and Port Isabel to watch out for the brown pelicans.
When these cold fronts — with strong winds — arrive in the area they cause dangers to the brown pelicans. The birds are able to land on roadways but are unable to take off. Some end up being struck by motorists.
Stephanie Bilodeau, a conservation biologist for Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, has been helping — with other volunteers — protect the brown pelicans on Highway 48. With the approaching cold front, she wants motorists to be aware that there might be pelicans stranded on the roadway unable to fly because of the strong winds.
“Behind these barriers (on the roadway), there is some vortex and some dead air and the birds get pushed into that dead air and they just kind of fall onto the road, and once they are there they can’t get back up again on their own because of that dead air and there is no lift,” Bilodeau said. “The 75 miles per hour speed limit doesn’t give them much of a chance to do much of anything once they are there.”
“The reason it only happens during these cold fronts is because the wind is just perfect but deadly for these birds as they are trying to cross before sunset,” she said.
Brown pelicans are usually in the area between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. so they can roost in the Bahia Grande.
The National Weather Service in Brownsville reports gusty winds of 30-35 mph will occur with the frontal passage, especially in/near any thunderstorms. Gusts up to 40 mph may occur near the coast.
Pelican fatalities on Highway 48 have occurred over the past several years and they occur as soon as cold weather moves into the Valley.
On Oct. 22, 2018, more than 40 pelicans were struck and killed by motorists traveling on the highway from Brownsville to Port Isabel. Bilodeau said during one incident over 100 brown pelicans were struck and killed by vehicles traveling on the roadway.
The Texas Department of Transportation has installed barriers along a portion of Highway 48 to attempt to help save the lives of brown pelicans on the roadway.
Bilodeau said motorists can do their part by slowing down in the area. Although there are signs that alert motorists to be on the lookout for low flying pelicans, motorists are unaware that the birds may have already landed on the road and are not in the air.
“People just need to slow down. They are speeding through and that’s the kind of situation where the pelicans don’t stand a chance,” she said.
