do you know what your state bird is? if it’s a cardinal or a robin, you are one of the fortunate to actually see your state bird on a daily basis.
last saturday morning, i was on my way to the gym at dawn. the sky was beginning to lighten, but you couldn’t see the road unless, of course, you had your headlights on. as i was nearing the end of a hill, something appeared in my headlights, LOOKED UP AT ME, and then…well, it was history.
if you’ve ever run over something, you know that sinking feeling you get just after that maybe it was someone’s pet. the only thing that made me think it wasn’t a dog or a cat was that i was sure i saw feathers. it was too small to be a chicken (at least one of our chickens, although i was close enough to home that i half-wondered if it was one of ours…), and too big to be a mourning dove, but i kept wondering if it was a kitten.
on the way home, i approached the “crash scene” slowly looking at the carnage. lots of brown and white feathers (whew! not a cat!), but still bigger than a typical bird. then it dawned on me: i killed the state bird. the ruffed grouse is the pennsylvania state bird, and although i’ve never actually seen one, it’s totally possible that we’ve got our fair share of them out here in these parts.
why can’t our state bird be something like the eastern bluebird or american robin? at least they get out of the way when a car approaches!
Awww, I am TERRIFIED of hitting something. I *thought* I hit a bird on the way to take the SAT in high school and bawled my head off until I got into the parking lot and didn’t see any feathers.
This last fall, I was the 3rd car past a hit squirrel, and it was still writhing around violently as I drove by with the kids in the car on the way to Will’s school. I felt AWFUL. I prayed for this squirrel so hard, that God would take him fast or let him get across the road and heal. I was scared to look on the drive home, but I think God answered #1. It scarred me for a week. Seeing expired roadkill doesn’t phase me, but actually hitting things tears me to shreds!
That’s funny because when I visited you over Christmas, Laura and I found a dead Ruffed Grouse on the road when we went for a walk around your block…..I pulled some tail feathers out and gave one to Gabe L. and kept one for myself…they’ve got nice tail feathers…
Maybe you just need to put up a goose crossing sign at a more appropriate spot, so the geese will know where to cross.
Suzie’s story reminds me of a friend, who in high school hit a bird and didn’t know what to do, so she got out and put it in her backseat, and brought it home. I can’t remember if it lived until she got home, or if it died, but her mom was horrified that there was a dead bird in her car. She ended up putting it in a shoebox and saving it until Spring when the ground was soft enough to bury it. We saw this particular friend once a month, and so each month we’d get an update on what was going on with the bird. Many tears (of hysterical laughter) were shared during the updates…
Our state bird is the American Robin. Kind of boring, but you’re right — at least we get to see it from time to time. Winter is really bad for birding in Michigan, at least around my neighborhood it is. The only thing I’ve seen for weeks is House Sparrows.
That’s sad, but soooooo not as bad a running over a line of baby quail following obediently behind their mother! aaaauuugh! My sister and I got out to see how many we had squished – three. We cried and cried, and we both remember it still.