Rye Miles #13621 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Have you ever noticed that as your driving along just about any road how birds dart in front of your car and you come real close to hitting them? Are they messing with us and is it a game they play among themselves ? Are they just stupid? Ya know...Bird brains? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Several years ago I am driving down a side street at about 30 miles an hour, when I see something out of the corner of my eye. I'm being passed on the shoulder by a Muscovy duck. He is just a'haulin' ass, flying just a little bit higher than the top of my door, so I got a good view of him through the passenger window. At the end of the street I stop at the stop sign, but he never slows down. There's no one coming from the left, but there's a car coming in the other lane. If it had been a pickup truck, like I was driving, he would have smashed into the left front quarter panel. Fortunately it was a car and was about eight inches lower to the ground that I was. He flew across the hood. Probably missed getting his tail feathers smashed by the windshield by just a few inches. I don't know for certain, but I would suspect that the driver needed to change his shorts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Could he have been riding the air current over the vehicle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 I hit one on the freeway a few years ago, he came right into my windshield! Yikes!! Poor guy! I think it was a crow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 We used to have a photograph of Daddy holding a Mallard drake by the wings, outstretched. Standing next to his 1954 Delta 88, with a large hole in the windshield. I asked him, one time, what they did with the duck. He said Mama cooked it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 I truly believe they do not know the danger they are in and proceed forward. I have hit a few birds. The most memorable one was when a dove was flying perpendicular to me and I hit him dead square in the middle of my windshield doing about 60. Man, the sound alone startled the heck out of me. I was amazed it didn't break the windshield. The dove's body bounced up and it looked like it went into the sunroof of the car behind me. Another time on my motorcycle a dove hit me right in the center of my chest. I was doing about 25 mph. I just reached up and clutched it with my right hand pulled the clutch in and hit my rear brake to stop, Once I got stopped I let it go and it flew off like nothing happened. Hmmm...Starting to think that doves have it out for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 I took a June bug in my forehead when I was doing a downhill on my bicycle, might have been doing something dangerous like fitty, sitty malnour. Ouch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 I think it's a case of one bird saying to another, "Hold my beer and watch this" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Slim Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Kaya had her first road kill a couple weeks ago. She took out a blackbird on I69 doing about 70. Chalk one up for the GMC. She felt bad. Hope I'm not around when she takes out a opossum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 I've hit three birds while operating motor vehicles. The first was a starling which flew into the grill of my brand new '75 Nova SS!! Destroyed the grill, but otherwise did no harm to the car. The second was while I was driving an open cockpit dragster, in competition at an NHRA event. This one hit me right in the chest, just before the finish line, at full speed. The car would run 160+ MPH and it knocked the wind out of me. I'm certain it cracked a rib or two and the remains of the bird were spread all over me and he driver's compartment. I managed to get the car stopped safely and just kinda' passed out for a few seconds. When my crew and he Safety Safari arrived, I was just coming to! It was a mess and several people thought that I was seriously injured, but I was only a little worse for wear. Moved on to the next round, but I was sore and a little short of breath for a few days. I don't know what kind of bird it was. It was small. The last time was on a motorcycle ride a few years ago. Fortunately I was wearing my good leathers and other than knocking the breath out of me and some serious cleanup of my gear, no harm was done to me. The bird was a barn swallow. I figure it was chasing bugs and never knew what hit it. I'd guess that most of these incidents are the result of the bird chasing it's next meal. Schoolmarm was driving a box van, back in the days when LEGGS pantyhose were popular. She was a LEGGS girl. She hit a buzzard, trying to lift off from roadkill meal. I guess his friends had a bonus meal at his expense!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 2 hours ago, Alpo said: Several years ago I am driving down a side street at about 30 miles an hour, when I see something out of the corner of my eye. I'm being passed on the shoulder by a Muscovy duck. He is just a'haulin' ass, flying just a little bit higher than the top of my door, so I got a good view of him through the passenger window. At the end of the street I stop at the stop sign, but he never slows down. There's no one coming from the left, but there's a car coming in the other lane. If it had been a pickup truck, like I was driving, he would have smashed into the left front quarter panel. Fortunately it was a car and was about eight inches lower to the ground that I was. He flew across the hood. Probably missed getting his tail feathers smashed by the windshield by just a few inches. I don't know for certain, but I would suspect that the driver needed to change his shorts. A Muscovy duck is one of the meanest critters ever put on this earth! I rate 'em right up there with a badger or a wolverine. We had one, a male, and he attacked all the other barnyard fowl without discrimination. Dogs and goats too!! Other ducks, peafowl, geese, even a turkey! The turkey stood his ground and that was a real battle! Didja' know that they can roost in a tree?? My mom finally trapped the dang thing and turned him out on the nearby lake!! Saw him for several years around the boat ramp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Birds play a serious game of chicken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypress Sun Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 17 minutes ago, Subdeacon Joe said: Birds play a serious game of chicken. It's the squirrels that play chicken around here.....they aren't very good at it from what I can see. Back when a lot of cars/trucks had CB radios, I saw many birds get taken out by the antenna. Poof, big bunch of feathers. I hit a Muscovy once while driving an 82 Monte Carlo. It smashed out both headlights on the right side and creased the hood in. Didn't do the duck any good at all. Ever wonder why birds fly into glass? You'd think that they would try to avoid the other bird flying at them......but noooo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stogie Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Driving my truck down the interstate, window down and my hand resting on the door mirror. This seagull comes along and hits my hand with its stomach. Man what a weird feeling. I can never forget while riding a motorcycle in short sleeves. I caught the south end of a north bound bee right in the crook of my arm. That fricken hurt, for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 Way back when I rode a motorcycle, a bird, I think just a sparrow hit the windshield on my bike. Scared the living daylights outta me!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypress Sun Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 59 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said: Way back when I rode a motorcycle, a bird, I think just a sparrow hit the windshield on my bike. Scared the living daylights outta me!! Almost forgot......In Florida motorcyclists aren't required to wear a helmet, glasses yes but no helmet. Watched 4 of them ride through a huge swarm of lovebugs on the interstate at around 75 mph.....that had to hurt and make a mess. They didn't have windshields. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perro Del Diablo Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Had a squirrel play chicken with me when I was on my bike. My passenger asked me why I didn't swerve I just said "this ain't no Gieco commercial". Ps squirrel didn't fair well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Thrill seekers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 4 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said: Way back when I rode a motorcycle, a bird, I think just a sparrow hit the windshield on my bike. Scared the living daylights outta me!! I had a seagull hit me square in the chest right around sunset one day. Hurt like hell. I was hanging on to the handle grips by my fingers when I got stopped. Coulda ended badly. Looked around PDFs for the gull but couldn’t find him. I was wearing a full face helmet at the time. My wife wouldn’t let me ride without a brain bucket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus Jack Calder Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 6 hours ago, Cypress Sun said: Ever wonder why birds fly into glass? You'd think that they would try to avoid the other bird flying at them......but noooo. I’ve heard it said that the birds see the sky reflected in the glass and think it is open sky ahead. Probably don’t see that other bird (reflection) until it’s too late. Most of the little song birds around here recover after a bit and fly off. We had a young Hawk crash into a window and break his neck. Too bad, I liked having the Hawk around, he kept the squirrel population under control. The local murder of Crows harass the song birds but leave the squirrels alone. We have a resident male Blue Bird here that is always trying to drive off the “competing male” in our window. He will do it all breeding season, tap, tap, tap. They can have up to 3 broods a year here in NC, so that is a lot of tapping. You would think he’d learn or get a terrific headache. “......but noooo.” CJC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 Birds hitting your car are bad enough, but my Father and I both had separate instances of bird strikes on our aircraft. I was lucky and it just went through the prop on the 150 I was flying and left a mess to clean up. Dad's eagle went through the nose of the Mitchell he was in, destroying his aerial camera set up and making a mess in the interior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 18 hours ago, Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 said: Birds hitting your car are bad enough, but my Father and I both had separate instances of bird strikes on our aircraft. I was lucky and it just went through the prop on the 150 I was flying and left a mess to clean up. Dad's eagle went through the nose of the Mitchell he was in, destroying his aerial camera set up and making a mess in the interior. You hafta’ expect that sort of thing when you go messin’ around in their territory!! Glad you both made it back to the ground safely!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 On my way to work one morning, had a bird cross in front of my vehicle. Figured I probably killed it. stopped for a donut before I got to work and looked at the grill work. there was that bird hanging on for dear life! I picked it out of there and it flew off. Weird! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go West Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 Most of my bird experiences involved doves. I call them suicide doves for that reason. Most of the time I see the puff of feathers in the rear view mirror. Once bounced a blackbird off my helmet while riding my bike at about 80. One hand came off the bars, but otherwise no harm to me, can't say the same for the bird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tex Wilson Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 About a month ago I was heading south on I-10 at 75 mph when a dove flew right across the front of my Explorer. I looked in the rear view mirror and all I saw was nothing but feathers. Poof! the dove just disintegrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catlow4697 Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 My Red 1995 F150 was a real bird killer I don't know if it was the color or the design The other pickups over the years since 1970 until now didn't seem to be bird magnets 2017 Red F250 only has one kill in two years but lots of very close calls and I still try to duck down like when riding a motorcycle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laramie Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Try hitting a coyote on a motorcycle sometime! Just be thankful that they don't fly!luckily, the coyote lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 On 6/7/2019 at 6:17 AM, Rye Miles #13621 said: I hit one on the freeway a few years ago, he came right into my windshield! Yikes!! Poor guy! I think it was a crow! I had to read that again. I thought you said it was a cow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Choctaw Jack Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Hit a housecat at about 70 mph while riding my GPZ 750(I was riding,not the cat).The bike and I came out of it unscathed but the cat came out in two pieces. Sorry ,Allie Mo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laramie Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 32 minutes ago, Choctaw Jack said: Hit a housecat at about 70 mph while riding my GPZ 750(I was riding,not the cat).The bike and I came out of it unscathed but the cat came out in two pieces. Sorry ,Allie Mo We fared better than the coyote too, but it was touch and go for a couple of seconds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 8 hours ago, Laramie said: Try hitting a coyote on a motorcycle sometime! Just be thankful that they don't fly!luckily, the coyote lost. I hit a 90 pound dog one evening, just at dusk. He appeared in my headlight for less than a second before the collision. I was probably going 50 mph or so. The dog did not survive. It bent the forks on my old bike so badly that the front fender scraped on the oil cooler mounted on the front frame rails, scared me out of ten years, and re-injured my right elbow which I'd just gotten a cast off of from surgery a couple of weeks before, (it was my first opportunity to ride since the surgery). I managed to keep the motorcycle upright, rode it into a church parking lot to look it over, and then eased it about a mile back to the house. Saw the dog in a ditch beside the road the next day on my way to work and couldn't believe I'd gotten off as easy as I did. I had to saw the lower legs on the front end of the bike in half to get them apart, but the control rods and pistons weren't damaged. Just another narrow escape from the reaper!! I've had more than my share of those!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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