Feathers

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Feathers

I didn't know this. That's some good lay down information on that topic. Ahaha my lesson of the day, I appreciate this.
What are the birds not on the list? Ducks, chickens, pheasants? Any others?

Any farm or game bird is OK, for obvious reasons - if you are allowed to eat it or hunt it, you can have feathers without a problem. Also, I think invasive species are also OK.

Best thing to do is check the list of those which are not OK - List of Migratory Bird Species Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act as of December 2, 2013

[thalassa]

Re: Feathers

Any farm or game bird is OK, for obvious reasons - if you are allowed to eat it or hunt it, you can have feathers without a problem. Also, I think invasive species are also OK.

Yup, though state regulations can be different than the federal ones. But the big invasive species for birds in the US (species that are known to specifically impact other bird species) are the mute swan (very problematic here), the European starling*, the European house sparrow*, the rock dove/feral pigeon*, and the Indian myna (this one is a problem in HI, not so much the mainland).

*These are the big, bad three--I'm pretty sure that federally it is allowable to trap and exterminate at will without a license for pest control (state and local laws may vary). The pigeon in particular may not be allowed to be controlled at will because (due to its almost exclusively urban range) its not as problematic for native species. The other two though, are known for stealing nests (in particular of purple martins and Eastern bluebirds), and a number of other cavity-nesting native songbirds, and starlings will even kick out eggs and lay their eggs in the nests of the other birds**.

**There are native birds that do this too, and are even problematic for rarer species (the brown headed cowbird and the prothonetary warbler come to mind--if I remember correctly, something like 20% of nests are parasitized, with a 25% reduction in desired young among the birds that raise they young, and about 20% of the parasitized nests are abandoned completely; in southern Illinois along the Cache River, the specific problem is habitat fragmentation--because suitable nesting habitat is so broken up the cowbird can come further in to territory it normally would stay out of and there is no resivoir where the warbler has safe nesting)***

***A similar problem is developing in the Arctic, not with birds, but with orca and narwhals...the narwhals have historically been protected by sea ice from the orca, but now they aren't, and a single pod of about 20 orca can take out a several hundred strong pod of narwhals in just a few hours.



(sorry, I could talk on this subject forever)



possibly more useful...a list of specific birds on the decline

[Willow]

Re: Feathers

I love how much grounded, informative intel I find in this virtual place. ^^

[October]

Re: Feathers

I pick up feathers off the ground when they're significant. My patron goddess has birds as one of her symbols. Sometimes if I'm talking at her and my eyes fall on a feather on the ground, I take it as a sign that she heard me. Sometimes I'll keep the feather and put it on my altar.

Of course, I don't keep every feather. We have a lot of cats, so that means a lot of feathers on the lawn

[Ula]

Re: Feathers

My husband got a turkey last year so I have a bunch of turkey feathers. I haven't used them much until recently. I have them in a wreath. I have used them when smoke cleansing like a fan. Other than that not a whole lot. They just sit in a box on the altar.