Maggie’s Bald Eagle Feathers

[BullGear]

We live in an area of the Chesapeake Bay where Bald Eagles almost outnumber the people. Today we found another Bald Eagle feather in our yard. sounds pretty cool? Except we have to call the Department of Natural Resource every time this happens. Seems as if it's illegal to have in your possession a Bald Eagle feather unless you are a member of an Indian tribe. Surprisingly, they come out almost immediately when called.

This is 2 feathers so far this year.

 

[Ravenworks]

Very illegal to possess ANY parts from an Eagle
Reason being is poachers make big money selling off animal parts and if you had parts whos to say you're not a poacher
It's to protect you

 

[BullGear]

Very illegal to possess ANY parts from an Eagle
Reason being is poachers make big money selling off animal parts and if you had parts whos to say you're not a poacher
It's to protect you

Yeah, I'm not complaining. It was almost a PSA for those who may not have known.

 

[acudaowner]

I always wondered about when people say they are trying to protect the animal like elephants and rhinos hippo and eagle , most of those animals in zoos have items like tusks , and teeth trimmed periodically . Eagles loose feathers a lot , if the demand is so high sell the items and flood the market with them driving the price into the ground forcing the buyers to go through you not keep it rare and hard to get . Like one of those African TV specials where they have tons of tusks stacked floor to ceiling in warehouses then they take them out and destroy them . The poachers just have to kill more animals when if you flood the market with the item you can control the trade and use that money to help fund conservation efforts just like they do with diamonds the supply is heavily controlled and only certain people can buy or sell them . I just always thought it wrong when they show those animal items being destroyed . But a lot of eagle feathers and skeletons when found will make there way to native Americans at least in the US or so I have been told who can use it in crafting items .

 

[BullGear]

We are always watching Bald Eagles fight in the sky above our property. They do this to teach the young how to hunt. It's amazing to watch. They will start high in the sky and come down to just above the tree tops. I guess that's why we've seen the feather on our property. There's probably many more all around the area. The 2 feathers I've turned in have gone to an Indian tribe somewhere around here, at least that's what I've been told. The DNR guys have been good. No questions asked, just thankful to be getting the feathers. With the feather having Federal crime implications, they are cool about it. No grilling me, they just take it and leave.

 

[Ravenworks]

My friend has two nest on his property and a large body of water.
I like watching the juveniles being taught to hunt.
Speaking about birds of prey,my buddy had a Red Tailed Hawk that was roosting on a rafter in his horse barnhe said it scared the shit out of him as it took to flight.

It's wing span was massive for a juvenile, he said it was 3 to 3-1/2 feet across.
We also have Ospreys and they are nothing to play with either.

My neighbors shitty yappy dog got snatched by one.

 

[MrSmith]

Years ago we did some of the cleanup at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Denver. It was in the process of changing from a production facility to a wildlife refuge. On site was, and still is, the National Eagle Repository. Dead eagles and parts are shipped to and stored there. Members of recognized tribes can request feathers, bones, etc. for whatever reason and if approved the Repository will provide the items.

While there, some of us were offered the chance to tour the facility. I respectfully declined.

Thank you,
MrSmith

 

[woogie_man]

Very illegal to possess ANY parts from an Eagle
Reason being is poachers make big money selling off animal parts and if you had parts whos to say you're not a poacher
It's to protect you

While many can see the reasoning behind this...it is still bullshit. It is a damn feather you found. Much like anything else in the woods, if i find arrow heads or bison skulls, I can keep them. Never understood the reason behind having to turn a feather in to the feds.

Yes poachers are bad, and are scum. There isn't anyone that would say otherwise. But to be scared over a damn feather is stupid

 

[Ravenworks]

While many can see the reasoning behind this...it is still bullshit. It is a damn feather you found. Much like anything else in the woods, if i find arrow heads or bison skulls, I can keep them. Never understood the reason behind having to turn a feather in to the feds.

Yes poachers are bad, and are scum. There isn't anyone that would say otherwise. But to be scared over a damn feather is stupid

Well it should work like this- find a feather, call the game cop.
Game cop comes out,inspects the feather to see if it's a natural shedding and then writes it up and it's yours.
Why is it that only the Indians are able to lay claim to Eagle parts?

BTW, I thought there were other birds that are protected as well, such as Owls?

EDIT:
I'm heeding some soild advice, I still have some good bird pics.
Bold juvenile that popped in and jumped on wifes freinds leg,he hangs around

 

[Moe Ron]

I remember a100 years ago I was attending the University of Missouri Columbia. They had/have a good animal husbandry program. They were nursing a bald eagle back to health. It was in an outdoor pen so we went over to see it. The thing was HUGE. I had never seen one in the feathers before. I was stunned Must be so cool to see them in the wild like that!

 

[woogie_man]

Well it should work like this- find a feather, call the game cop.
Game cop comes out,inspects the feather to see if it's a natural shedding and then writes it up and it's yours.
Why is it that only the Indians are able to lay claim to Eagle parts?


My wife gathers feathers and makes arrangements so it would be of great benefit to her.
BTW, I thought there were other birds that are protected as well, such as Owls?

These are just some of her vast amount of orphaned feathers, these aren't arrangements but a way to store them and easily see them.
Believe me, when you have the amount of feathers she has you need a simple way to store them.
View attachment 7396791View attachment 7396792

AGREED!!! I would love to keep the ones I have found. But nit wanting to deal with the BS I have always left them on the ground.

Hell they would be displayed with honor and pride....but alas I am the wrong color so I don't get anything special.

 

[deerhunter70]

I don’t get the fascination of the bald eagle. All they are is a pretty vulture. Maybe I’m jaded because they are a dime a dozen where I live.

 

[Moe Ron]

A pretty vulture
I dated one of those once. Picked my bones clean.

 

[Ravenworks]

I don’t get the fascination of the bald eagle. All they are is a pretty vulture. Maybe I’m jaded because they are a dime a dozen where I live.

Ummm pride maybe since it is our National bird.

 

[BullGear]

I don’t get the fascination of the bald eagle. All they are is a pretty vulture. Maybe I’m jaded because they are a dime a dozen where I live.

If I were to stand outside of my house all day, I'd see no less than a dozen Bald Eagles, a Red Tailed Hawk or 2, any number of Ospreys and about 20 buzzards. It's fun to watch the buzzards, because when the Bald Eagles come around, the buzzards flee the scene. They want nothing to do with the Bald Eagles. I can't tell you how many rabbits have been scooped up by the Red Tailed Hawk. The rabbits are so afraid that they've built dens under my sidewalk leading up to the front porch.

One Thanksgiving, we had a Bald Eagle land in one of our trees about 30 yards from the back of my house. We just happened to be sitting down for dinner and the wife looks out the window and sees it land in the tree. I gotta admit, that was pretty special.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

At my request, many years ago a friend of mine (Metis) made me a Coup Stick as well as a Talking Stick. The Talking Stick he adorned with "fake" Eagle feathers, just to keep everything 'above-board' and 'obviously honest'.

Even though I/we actually CAN have the actual Eagle Feathers here in this house.... there are other people who'd get stupid, wound-up, and off-the-rails.

There is actual legitimacy as well as actual apprehension due to the 'stupid tangent' that too many fling themselves towards.

 

[deerhunter70]

Ummm pride maybe since it is our National bird.

I have American pride. I’m no commie pinko. I’d rather be dead than red. But as far as birds go the bald eagle isn’t anything exciting. I watch ravens make an eagle look like a window licker.

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

Are you saying I shouldn't display this in my basement?

 

[jb0311]

BTW, I thought there were other birds that are protected as well, such as Owls?

That is correct. It is all covered under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). Most bird feathers (as well as bones, eggs, etc) are illegal to possess, unless it comes from a game species like waterfowl or a non-native species.

Guide to Legal and Illegal Feathers in the USA (updated) — Featherfolio

I pay special attention to the legal requirements of possessing feathers since I sell feather art. Many people tell me about their small feather collections so I thought I’d share a rough guide to what feathers you can have in the USA. I can have: Feathers from most birds that are not native to

www.featherfolio.com

 

[Threadcutter308]

This ones is on the neighbor’s roof. I couldn’t get a picture of his pal because he was right above me on our roof.

 

[hangunnr]

Are you saying I shouldn't display this in my basement?View attachment 7396985

Our local Taxi makes those. First time I saw one was a definite WTF moment....

 

[Ravenworks]

That is correct. It is all covered under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). Most bird feathers (as well as bones, eggs, etc) are illegal to possess, unless it comes from a game species like waterfowl or a non-native species. Your wife needs a permit for those feathers. It's probably not something I would post online. I don't say that to be a dick either, and in fact think those displays are pretty cool. My nerd hobby is birding and is what got me into my current line of work after the military.

Guide to Legal and Illegal Feathers in the USA (updated) — Featherfolio

I pay special attention to the legal requirements of possessing feathers since I sell feather art. Many people tell me about their small feather collections so I thought I’d share a rough guide to what feathers you can have in the USA. I can have: Feathers from most birds that are not native to

www.featherfolio.com

I was talking to my wife about the MBTA and of course as with most things "Wildlife" she knew about it.
Then she looked at me and said "WHY?"
Anyhow she told me about how the clothing industry put a hurting on some of the bird species by using the feathers to accent the clothing.
I guess I learned something new today.

 

[jb0311]

I was talking to my wife about the MBTA and of course as with most things "Wildlife" she knew about it.
Then she looked at me and said "WHY?"
Anyhow she told me about how the clothing industry put a hurting on some of the bird species by using the feathers to accent the clothing.
I guess I learned something new today.

Yeah many were close to going extinct as it was the height of fashion at the time. Late 1800's. It wasn't uncommon to see entire birds used for hats. Namely larger birds like egrets and herons.

"The statistics were staggering. Good Housekeeping reported in its winter of 1886-1887 issue: "At Cape Cod, 40,000 terns --at 40 cents apiece---have been killed in one season by a single agent of the hat trade."

This was also around the time that we managed to eliminate the most numerous bird in North America, the passenger pigeon. Around the 1860's there were billions that migrated through the midwest, and by the early 1900's they were completely extinct.

Keeping feathers is 99/100 completely harmless, but some kind of legislation was needed to make sure we slowed the loss of wildlife. It's less relevant for feather collection today as most thoughts toward wildlife have changed but is mostly aimed at preventing sport killing, or other negligent killing of non-game species.

There is small wildlife museum in the town where I work that has one of the most extensive taxidermy collections of birds I have ever seen. It was a private collection that got reported and it was so impressive that he avoided prosecution by donating it for educational purposes.