Jackdaws Eating Grit/Salt

[JB9302]

Noticed it again today after clearing snow from drive and gritting it , several Jackdaws feeding on the salt/grit.
Anyone else noticed it ? , just seems Jackdaws partial to it .
Seen other birds in spring/summer eating grit at the roadside , Grouse spring to mind .

Julian

[diggleken]

Thats interesting Julian, seen sheep on the tops slicking at rock salt, but not birds - I assume they feel the need to take on salts.
I remember in Canadian Rockies big horn sheep feeding just the same at natural salt deposits, said to supplement salts and other minerals intake.
Cheers
Ken

[Monkey Orchid]

I thought that salt was pretty much toxic to birds?

I know that seabirds can metabolise and excrete salt taken in from their diet, via salt glands on their head... But I didn't know that other birds possessed this ability.

Of course habitats in which jackdaws can be found include coastal cliffs, where their diet can include marine invertebrates, stranded fish etc. Have they then evolved a similar system to seabirds for metabolising salt? I've done some internet trawling but so far failed to find any conclusive information on this.

[Dogghound]

Birds do require a little salt in the diet. Although feeding on road salt like this could actually cause damage to the bird.

[sunnydale]

I've seen this too and thought it was a bit strange Maybe there's something in there (other than salt) that they've taken a fancy too?

Tracey

[lol geoff]

They have been mixing road salt with molasses for some years now. It is put with the salt to help it stick to the road instead of blowing away when dry or being pushed to the side of the road by traffic. It has been a concern to safety organisations as when it is wet it is very slippery especialy to motorcyclists. There were reports of deer and sheep standing in the middle of roads munching away at the salt causing accidents to unsuspecting motorists.