Thank you Bob Hinkle, and others or the response. I see that all of you are
as much concerned, so I put together a list of possible solutions. This is
with some web-research and some input from friends who are
birders/eco-people from Virginia, and Europe:

A simple observation after scouring the web for options:People are more
resourceful when they want to kill the birds than conserve:
http://www.ducks.org/hunting/hunting-tips/fight-the-ice-on-your-next-duck-hunt
. More on this toward the end of the email, because I believe one could
use  their methods for conservation.

*Energy expending methods:*

1. Heating. This may be eco-friendly if its combined with a renewable
energy source like solar or wind.

Advantages: simple, effective, non-interactive

Disadvantages:  good for smaller areas but not larger, energy consuming,
eco-friendly options like wind vanes may be hazardous for birds.  Heating
may also create some issues for bird trapping and electrocution. However,
if the heating coils were well insulated and below the surface that's
accessible to diving birds.  It would still be for small areas.

*@Cynthia Norris: *Windmills (fans) should not be too difficult, especially
bigger the rotors, the slower are the movements you need. In addition, one
could decorate them with bright colors or flashing lights. Disadvantage:
One might scare the birds away with the decorations. ???

2.     Pressure based- creating flowing motion in the water: similar
advantages and disadvantages as above.

*Chemical methods:*

3.     Anti-freeze compounds added to the water: Advantage- effective and
biodegradable especially if using peptides. Disadvantages- expensive, and
can get diluted if using on a large water body.  Using antifreeze compounds
like glycol would be toxic and is not advisable.  Glycerol would, perhaps,
be okay... however one would needs lots of it, and I am sure that is not a
good idea, since it may affect the ecosystem and the birds.

4.     Nanotechnology? I don't have any information on these. I shall look
into it.

*Manual, small scale methods: * *Using the duck-hunters gear to protect
these birds???? I am all for it!*

5.     These are used mostly for water-fowl hunting- motor boats that
create a small ice-free area in the pond or lake.  Added disadvantage is
using fossil fuel for running the motors, but perhaps can be adapted for
generating small areas of free water.  Another disadvantage is, free water
will be short-lived for a few hours. (See the first comment about duck
hunters).

Another option is to use inflatable boats and cut the ice manually. Lots of
hard work there. I believe people do this in Europe.

6.     Creating shelters for the birds equipped with IR for warmth?,  and
perhaps, rescuing them from trapped ice: Again,  lots of effort needed from
volunteers.

I can't do this alone of course. So I'm wondering if anyone on this
listserv who's an engineer/scientist/bird behavior expert or just
resourceful person, and can take up the challenge? I know that some form of
conservation on small scale is being some in other places like Virginia;
Cornell bird site also lists some conservation efforts.

Thank you again for hearing me out. Please also post in if you have any
creative ideas or any comments. I am sorry that this post is a little
different from the general bird-sighting posts, however, I felt I had it
post it.

Pow










On 25 March 2014 21:48, Pow Joshi <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Dear All,
>
> I find it very distressing and heart-rending to see the birds perish in
> the unusually nasty winter weather. Shaker Green lake/Duck pond has 2 pairs
> of hooded mergansers, and a male with 2 females of ring-necked ducks, in
> addition to several ( at least 5-6) wood ducks and several mallards.
> I know that the woodducks and the mallards generally are good at taking
> care of themselves, and the  former can roost in the trees. However, I am
> concerned for the mergansers and the ring necked ducks. I was wondering if
> you would have any information on their behavior or if there's anything we
> can do to give these poor birds a slightly better chance at life.
>
> I know that we are not supposed to intervene with the natural causes,
> however, I also found the Wendy park area being frozen with lots of dead
> birds, after a nice weather day earlier a couple of weeks ago. I am
> wondering if one should create some methods that will allow the water
> remain open in such areas with higher migrant bird populations. For
> example, creating a windmill  at the corner pier that will generate some
> heat to keep the water open on such days. The power may be used for other
> purposes on regular days. I am not sure if there would be some other idea
> around this forum to protect these birds.
>
> I appreciate your response, and thank you for reading my post.
> sincerely,
> Pow
>

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.


You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]