Hello Larry and others:

A couple ounces is a lot of lead. But I still dare you to put even just five pellets into your parakeet's grit dish....

I don't have an explanation for lead shot being found in the gizzards of those wild chukar in Oregon, except that they ate it and were still alive long enough to get shot. It might not be as simple as bird eats shot, bird dies instantly. I'll allow that depending on the conditions it might take a while. If it happens to be a bird that is on soft foods that time of year, like chukar can be when they have grass greens available, maybe they don't experience toxic effects as quickly. But when they are on a cured seed diet like most summers in chukar habitat, they may succumb more quickly. By the same token, I would never expect sage-grouse to die from eating shot... they flat don't eat grit at all because they only eat soft foods and don't have a muscular gizzard. Maybe eagles have so much trouble because of stronger stomach acids to digest meat. It would kinda make sense, wouldn't it? Have you called Dr. Kerry Reese in Idaho like I suggested earlier? Be up front, tell him you are a skeptic, push some of your ideas at him, and see what he has to say.

I think Amarillo gave a great summary of the Ontario chukar and pheasants at post #173891. I never said they were wild birds; even I know that wild chukar don't exist in Canada.

Here are some more studies:

"Large die-offs or consistent mortality, such as that of swans in northwestern Washington, prompt concern that lead poisoning could negatively impact populations. In 2000-01, over 300 trumpeter swans died in Whatcom County, WA from ingestion of lead shot (WDFW, unpublished report to the Commission, 2001). The 2001 population of trumpeter swans in this area was 916, and it is likely that lead poisoning is affecting the population in this area."

Here is a case where population level impacts have been documented from lead alone. Larry, you suggest that documented population level impacts are the ones we should care about as wildlife managers. Would you recommend we keep shooting lead in a place like coastal WA? Would you recommend we keep shooting lead in Montana at Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area (allowed there on the shoreline, cattails and adjoining wheat for pheasant, sharptails and huns) where the majority of Montana's trumpeter swans stage during migration?


Last edited by Grouse Guy; 01/12/10 11:27 PM.