Psalm 91:
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
~~~~~~~
MBTA is the short for Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The MBTA was “enacted in an era when many bird species were threatened by the commercial trade in birds and bird feathers.” ~~Wikipedia
Large numbers of birds were being killed for sport and the fashion industry. Because of this, it is now illegal to keep the feathers you may find on the ground. And the government is serious about this, even today…
The possession of feathers and other parts from MBTA-protected birds without a permission is prohibited. The only exceptions are the feathers of legally-hunted waterfowl or other migratory gamebirds, which may be possessed by hunters. This prohibition extends to molted feathers and to feathers taken from road- or window-killed birds.
~~From the Feather Atlas
I can see a need for this. There could be nothing wrong with a child picking up a feather and keeping it among his or her special stuffs. You would think. But, if such an exemption was made, people would take advantage of that loophole and the Treaty being rendered useless.
Recently, we were made aware of a couple little violators, but if they would be arrested by the government authorities, those authorities, in turn would be violating the MBTA themselves.
Funny, funny.
This is a new Barn Swallow nest we found in the garage and even though our duck feathers are abundant, I wonder where they found the barred one. After asking around, it is suspected it is a breast feather of a Great Horned Owl.
I tried figuring this out in my head if it is a second brood for our Faithful couple and it seemed just a little too soon. Also, these Barn Swallows are not quite as used to us. I feel sad we cannot monitor this nest, but alas, we were not able to monitor most of the other nests on our property, so that’s ok. We were given a special blessing to watch the other one up close.
This nest location is a smart one for the Swallows. It is virtually predator proof.
Thanks for the scripture and information. I can understand why that law would be out into place. That’s great about th new Swallows nest.
I had never heard of that law…it is the USA of course and so may not apply in Canada..but it is interesting. Those who use birds for target practice are so ignorant. The picture is beautiful…Diane
The nations under the Treaty are the US, Canada, Japan and Russia. Surprisingly, Russia signed on in 1976 while they were still Communist. Now if only Central and South America would get on board. They are the places I am most concerned about because many of “our” birds reside there in the winter.
How in the world could they enforce such a strict rule?
Well, people are not smart. Do a quick search for some species’ feathers. I recently did one for “Blue jay feather” and you know what I found? People selling jewelry using these feathers on Etsy and other sites. All the USFWS has to do is that same search… And how many people blog, post in forums of feather, nests and egg finds? Some of these people may learn a hard lesson. If those are allowed, we’re back to square one.
Oh, I see. I was only thinking in terms of someone picking up a feather and setting it on the mantle or something as a souvenir or curiosity. To actually “harvest” in a way to sell, hmmm, that is different. I suppose many who do that have no idea it is illegal.
It’s kind of like going over a speed limit. The limits are set for a reason; there’s really no gray area. In a 35 mph zone, it’s doubtful you will get a ticket going 37mph, but the law is there and the police can pull you over. There has to be a line in every law and when it’s stepped over, regardless of reason or lack of one, the authorities have the right to enforce it.
This issue of picking up feathers is one discussed on birding forums. People joke that the “feather police” are not going to arrest you, but even most will say you best not even think of keeping a Bald Eagle feather if you happen to come across one. Take a picture, if you wish, but do not walk off with it.
Actually, I’ve been thinking about this as a Christian. If I know about the law, which I do, as a witness to my children, we’d better obey this law. Besides feathers, nests and of course, the birds themselves are included. We’ve got that small collection of nests sitting in my kitchen, none of which were brought in while they were in use (They had blown out of trees after storms or unknowingly made exposed by someone’s mowing), but I think this would be a good object lesson to the children and I will be taking time within a couple days to talk about our role as Christians and how we are to obey all laws regardless if they seem trivial or not. Regardless, even if it puts a dent on our study and pleasure of the birds.
My, I sure was verbose.
If anyone happens by this post, four Barn Swallows have fledged from the nest. As of last week, they were still “beaming”- this is what Barn Swallows do because they don’t have branches to hop around on while practicing their wings.