Dead bird

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The only thing I can think of is that it bumped into one of our windows. Not really something raptors normally do.
 
Nice bird.

Window would be my guess too
 
That's a bummer. I don't like seeing any bird meet it's end due to humans, but it bothers me more when it's a raptor. Good looking bird.
 
No idea about species, but yea looks like some kind of raptor.

Where do you go from here? Toss it in the woods? It’d be a cool mount if you know someone that does taxidermy, but the law might have questions or a taxidermist might not even be allowed to mess with them. At least in my state, every hawk, owl, eagle, falcon, whatever kind of raptor are all protected.
 
I think it falls under federal law, and afaik, raptors are off limits for taxidermy. I have a collection of feathers I've found over the years, and it's illegal for me to have them. You can have my feathers when you pry them from my cold dead hands!
 
In NY, there’s ways to get them mounted, but it’s a hassle and the trophy isn’t going to a private owner. It’ll be displayed at a university or school.
 
I think it falls under federal law, and afaik, raptors are off limits for taxidermy. I have a collection of feathers I've found over the years, and it's illegal for me to have them. You can have my feathers when you pry them from my cold dead hands!
You mean you have a pile of feathers out in the woods that you visit often.
 
Is that fishing line or kite string? I take a pretty dim view of (semi)disposable synthetic lines in general. It's a particularly egregious form of pollution that has long lasting effects in the environment.
 
Be careful how you ask questions. About 25 years ago I was taking my kids to school...saw an unusual lump in the road at the train tracks. Stopped quick and checked...yep it was an owl, still warm. I picked it up and took it with me...walked the kids into school and we went to the principal's office. He was interested, we went to the science department and plans were started to preserve/stuff it for the school to use as part of its program. They quickly made a call to the Dept. of Natural Resources and described the situation. The person got real clear that we should not have even touched it...dead or not. Just picking it up, I was in violation of federal statutes...DF'ers.

I think I just left it with them at the school for them to parse it out. No good deed goes unpunished.
 
Yep...so "concerned" over them that if one is dead in the road, you're not to touch/move it. Far better/more respectful to let passing vehicles mangle and destroy it.
 
I think it's to remove all ambiguity from the law. Was it really dead in the road, or did you club it to death? Same with feathers. Did you just happen to find a feather, or did you shoot the bird and remove them? Assuming people are operating under good intentions is a bad assumption, so outlawing everything gets rid of all the ways to overtly make money(or whatever) from raptor parts. There's literally nothing you can say that'll justify owning them, and you then have the risk of fine, or maybe jail.
 
Yup, it's a bummer when it happens. It's sad whenever a wild bird mistakes our 5x7 foot picture windows for a patch of sky, reflected.

We oftentimes can catch them in shock after a strike, and keep them warm and safe until they recover. But some break their necks on impact, or shock out right away, and it's all over.

We try to assuage our guilt by telling ourselves we help boost the songbird population with our feeders and provision of great habitat. It is what it is, I fear.
 
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  • #23
The weirdest bird strike we ever had at the house was a spruce grouse that ran into the side of the house... didn't hit a window at all. Strange deal for sure but never has happened since.
 
One of the things I have done is to hang hootchies or flies from monofilament fishing line on the outside of the windows. It works wonders actually. Try it out.
Or maybe some of that holographic tape used to repel woodpeckers from making mince meat of the wooden trim on your house
 
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