I creamed a big, fat sage hen standing stupidly in the middle of my lane of the road down off the crest of a hill in a rented PT Cruiser--of which the grill was the Last thing that bird saw. I remember a thump, and because it was late in the day and the sun was angled right, I looked it the RVM where the sun had illuminated thousands of feathers floating in the wind. "******* bird," I thought.

 

Well, then, I guess I'm not the only person at NAM whose had an "encounter" with a bird while driving. My husband came home and checked over my car and he also couldn't find any damage. So, hopefully, the bird survived and MINI's beauty has not been dimished .

Since we're on the subject, my husband flies in a helicopter everyday for his job (he's a reporter, not a pilot). Once his pilot had a goose fly through the windshield of the helicopter. Pandemonium and feathers in his mouth, but the pilot landed safely.

 

Just yesterday I was motoring along when suddenly something very large appeared in my rearview. As I moved my gaze to the mirror I'm wondering "what the hell is falling off my car?" Turns out is was an enormous crane flying about 3 feet off the ground. IT just missed ME!

 

Ahh... this brings back an old story... many years ago (1978) when I lived in northern Georgia and my father was a middle school teacher in Forsyth County, I went to school in the same district so he would drive me to school. t was a fun, twisty mtn road and he was cruising in his recently We lived fartehr south in Cumming purchased Datsun F-10 (top 10 ugliest cars ever made... but at the time it was a rare FWD 5-speed). One morning we went around a curve and hit a bird head-on. Blood and feathers EVERYWHERE. Grill... radiator... windshield... It must have hit the leading edge of the hood and just exploded. Just one of those things that get's burned into the memory of an 8 year old.

 

was they day cruising about 60 on my 'cycle and caught a big blackbird dead center in the chest. Felt like I'd been hit with a bowlind ball. How I stayed up to a controlled stop I've never figured out.

Almost as exciting as the day a bee bounced up and ended up inside my full face helmet!

 

In the MINI - no, but I hit a seagull or pelican once in an F-14 doing 350 knots at about 2000 feet altitude. I was lucky that thing didn't come through the canopy when it hit. It certainly got my attention though!

 

Our MINI was only a few months old when we had out first encounter with a bird. A turkey was standing in the middle of my lane. I was running about 65 MPH, and instead of slowing down or stopping, I decided to change lanes and pass the big bird. I got to about 50 yards away when he decided to take flight ... directly into the path of the MINI.

Here's the damage:

 

I can relate... I hit something about the size of a dove with the top edge of a '71 mustang headlight doing about a hundred (in the country, straight, no other cars) and it looked like a feather pillow going off in a big explosion. I felt bad for the bird but it felt no pain. Having good nerves is important as you don't want to get twitchy when doing a 100. No damage to the car... a sharp radius sheet metal edge must be pretty tough compared to a bird at any velocity.

 

Interesting what turns people on...

 

Yes, I noticed this and chuckled. "Bawling" and "balling" may sound the same....but they're not!!!

 

I hit a Rottweiler in a Saab 9000 Turbo.
I was doing about 45, the dog weighed in at about 100 pounds. the dog jumped out of the woods on the side on the side of the road.

1 Saab + 1 Big Dog = $5000.00+ damage.
Hood, grill, bumper, air intake, turn signal, head light.

 

Whoops!!!

Check out the last definition on m-w.com

 

Yeah, the wild turkeys are courting here in Sacramento, too. (Note the males with their tail feathers fanned out.)

Did you know Ben Franklin wanted the wild turkey to be our national bird?

In answer to the original question, I hit a bird once when I was in high school. I had always assumed they would react quickly enough, and even if they didn't, the airflow over the car would help deflect them. (Kinda like a canoe going around rocks in a river.) Especially a little, low, slippery sports car. (Triumph Spitfire.)

Nope! I was wrong! I was only going about 40 when I hit one. Similar circumstances to the original message - two birds sitting in the middle of the road, pecking at something. One flew east, one flew west - right into my windshield!

I've hit a few others every now and then. But none surprised me as much as the first one!

 

i was drivin down residential doin about 45 and all of a sudden a cat jumps out, it hits my front right bumper and rolls to the curb and i hear a thump, then i stopped and went back to look for it, but it already ran away. that was crazy!!!!

and when i was little i remember riding with my dad in his '84 beemer. I was on the way to school and i noticed a lot of birds eating food in the middle of the street, and by the time i told my dad to avoid the birds, it was too late all i saw was feathers in the back.

 

Move this thread to Off Topic Fetish?



May all of your motoring be largely free from disruption by small furry or feathered creatures,
Tatt

 

Doing about 70 on a short straight in the twisties - three deer standing in the middle of the road - I hit the brakes - all three deer break for the treeline - I ease off of the brakes - one (Bambi) wheels and bolts back onto the roadway.

Z3 - $7,650 for hood, lights, quarter panel, etc.
Bambi - Beyond economical repair