Condor Watch Talk

Primary flight feathers

  • inaspin by inaspin

    I'm thinking that the primaries would make excellent modern quill pens - just chop of the tip at the body end and insert a biro refill.
    All it needs is someone willing to keep a look out for the shed feathers and to collect them. I've done this with a pelican primary and find it's a good antidote to all the technology we are faced with...

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  • wreness by wreness moderator

    I agree! (I want a feather!) I asked long ago if condor feathers are sold (they are not) or kept (they are not). This is because they are a protected endangered species and it is illegal. It's even technically illegal to pick up a Blue Jay feather you find on the ground. I have been to Art & Craft fairs where there are actually agents walking around checking to see if anyone's used any feathers in Dream Catchers or art they'd made. 😮 Most people have no idea this is that strict as you do find feathers around, but in the case of condors this would be pretty clear:

    U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16U.S.C. 703-712),

    "Unless and except as permitted by regulations, …it shall be unlawful at any time, by any means, or in any manner…to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, …possess, offer for sale, sell, …purchase, import…any migratory bird, any part, nest, or eggs of any such bird…"

    It is a "strict-liability" law, meaning that there is no requirement for law enforcement agencies to prove "intent" to violate the law. That is, if you are found in possession of a protected species or its parts or products, you are automatically in violation of the law.

    The provisions of the Act are nearly absolute; "...except as permitted by regulations ..." is the only exception. Some examples of permitted activities that do not violate the law are legal hunting of specific game birds, legitimate research activities, display in licensed zoological gardens, and bird banding under an appropriate permit.**

    The Act covers the great majority (83%) of all native birds found in the U.S.

    Many of the species not covered by the Act are covered by the Endangered Species Act , other Federal laws, or state laws, many of which are as stringent as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act .

    In the lower 48 states, all species except the house sparrow, feral pigeon, common starling, and non-migratory game birds like pheasants, gray partridge, and sage grouse, are protected. Penalties upon conviction can be severe. Even if a sympathetic jury finds that you meant no harm in trying to rear an abandoned nestling or if you picked up a hawk feather you found lying on the ground, legal defense costs are so expensive as to be crippling.

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  • inaspin by inaspin

    Wow - really didn't know that the regulations are so strict, but I suppose it makes sense in that a feather from a 'murdered' bird is indistinguishable from one that has been shed naturally. It's surprising that the places that have captive breeding programmes don't have some sort of exemption so that they could sell any shed feathers complete with a permit to help offset their costs.

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  • wreness by wreness moderator in response to inaspin's comment.

    Yep, would be nice but then how do you regulate that, you know? People get sneaky. 😕 I believe the condor feathers do go to certain Native American Tribes (as in the case of Eagle feathers) but not sure on this.

    Not far from me is a Wolf Sanctuary and they sell little tiny plastic bottles (about the size of a swing thimble) full of shed wolf hair. They do this, as you said, to offset the cost of running the place. They collect the hair when the wolves shed or even when some of the tamer ones are brushed (they love this!). Seven dollars U.S. for one of these things. Someone gave me one as a gift and I said, "are you insane?" I mean, it's nice and all but it's a little bunch of white-grey stringy- hair in a teeny bottle you can look at and go "oh, that's wolf fur. Ok" The lady at the store said they sell "a lot" of them.

    The injured wolves, or pups being raised very young for a time, also play with various pieces of leather tied to teathers and these are sold, teeth marks and all, for amounts I won't stun you with. Teeth marks.

    A year or so ago Snapshot Serengeti was selling off some of their cameras that the animals attacked and murdered. It would have made an incredible conversation piece to own one! There are people out there who would buy coyote-chomped bones from carcass sites, wrecked scale faces, raven feathers (these are legal to own) and I can't image what a plaster cast replica of a life-size condor foot would sell for. (they could recruit Dolly the Incredible Condor Spokesbird for this task, maybe) 😃

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  • Shiphrah by Shiphrah

    Fascinating discussion! Thanks to you both.

    It's sort of like trading in ivory, isn't it? I once had a bluejay feather I found.in the woods. Never knew I was breaking the law, and didn't know the bluejays at my bird feeder were protected. If my cat caught one, I guess I should burn it to conceal the evidence. Or is there a safe way to turn the feathers in to some authority?

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  • Shiphrah by Shiphrah

    To @wreness and @inaspin

    I happened across a Condor Watch June 2014 blog post by @myraef which opens with reference to the Wiyot Nation and condors. (sorry I don't know how to link it but it's easy to find, second article for that month.

    I did some web searching and came up with some interesting information about native peoples and feathers.

    Here's a 2014 article about the Wiyot Nation and their World Renewal Ceremony:

    http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20140331/a-cultural-identity-returned-wiyot-tribe-completes-the-first-world-renewal-ceremony-in-over-150-years

    Here's an excerpt that mentions condor feathers:

    " The Men wore deer and elk hides around their waists, but Sherman said they would also be wearing shell necklaces and condor feathers, some of which were donated by Sia, the Comanche Nation Ethno-Ornithological Initiative. Other tribes also contributed ceremonial clothing."

    Here's the home site of Sia, an organization of the Comanche Nation which focuses on eagles.

    http://comancheeagle.org/pdf/Sia'sNon-Eagle Feather Repository Application Form D3.pdf

    And here's their application for obtaining feathers - Native Americans only.

    http://comancheeagle.org/home.html

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  • wreness by wreness moderator in response to Shiphrah's comment.

    Very cool, Shiphrah, thanks for that!

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  • inaspin by inaspin

    Goodness - so much information. It's all about knowing where to look. Thanks Shiprah.

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  • wreness by wreness moderator in response to Shiphrah's comment.

    Oops sorry, didn't see this until now because of all the info you posted right after this!

    Maybe show your cat the story below and put the Fear of the Federal Government in him/her. 😄

    There's a strange story about a lady in Illinois named Peg Bargon who in 1994 sent a dream catcher to Hillary Clinton that included feathers from a bald eagle, a goshawk, a barred owl and a snowy owl. (yikes) Ms. Bargon, an avid crafter and nature lover said she found them in the woods near her home where she usually gathered articles to create her crafts with. There are conflicting reports on whether Clinton turned Bargon in or if wildlife officials began investigating when they read about the gift in the press. A probe was launched for a year which included recording Mrs. Bargon's phone calls, issuing many search warrants, undercover agents pretending to purchase her crafts and so that autopsies could be done on the birds whose parts were used by Bargon. Bargon ended up spending over spent over $10,000 on legal fees, plead guilty and paid a fine of $1,200.

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