Bird Hit : Has it happened to anyone else

vikrantw1 · 26th September 2006, 15:32

Hi - Usually when we talk of bird hits on cars - its more the park statue variety - and everything - despite the cursing (at that moment) - is cleared up with a rag- and soap water
But not in this case
So here is the situation - last year - was in Minneapolis - and with 2 of my friends decided to head to Mt. Rushmore ( in South Dakota- all those presidents carved on rock) - on the 4th of july weekend
Just for information , South Dakota is one of the emptiest states in the USA - nothing for miles - and all undulating prairie land - and naturally everyone drives 20 miles or more above the speed limit

- so there we were whizzing at around 160 Kph - on cruise control - rental impala - I was driving - hardly any car in site - and suddenly this bird - on the side of the highway - takes off perpendicular to it - hits the front window - deflects off it - onto the external rear view mirror and then falls off taking the godammed mirror with it !(just the mirror - not the casing)
So we drove in the right lane till the next town ( which was 80 miles away) - and next day got another car - but the lady there - when I filled out the accident report - was giving me real strange looks !

Even some of my friends still maintain that I made it up - and I actually brushed against a pillar or something

- the truth is stranger than fiction

But would be good to know if any of the people here had a similar experience

n_aditya · 26th September 2006, 16:10

I had a similar experience once long back... when i was driving from blore to mysore.... a bird zeroed in to my rear door and i thought some kid flung a shoe at the car...

when i stopped and looked back i saw the poor bird was injured... and my car thankfully was not damaged in any way....

btw did the rental insurance cover help in your case? must have been quite an effort convincing the rental staff....

tsk1979 · 26th September 2006, 16:19

Has happened to me too. Was driving from Nagpur to bangalore, and after a few kms into andhra heard a little thud. Ignored it. Reached a dhaba to take break, and what I see is that the indica bumper, light and some part of bonnet is smeared with blood. Feathers in the air dam/grill were the giveaway of a bird hit.
rural highways with lots of bullock cart movement(ferrying grains etc.,) have this problem. These birds rush for food, and its very difficult to aviod them.

suman · 26th September 2006, 16:30

Couple of months back....Rajokri flyover heading towards Gurgaon at about 7.30 in the morning, doing around 110kmph; low flying bird hit the passenger side of the front windscreen and was a goner.

There was a sharp sound, some feathers got sprayed on the windscreen, that was about it....luckily no damage to the glass, had it been a heavier bird perhaps the glass would have shattered.....lucky me, poor bird

Mr.Bangalore · 26th September 2006, 16:52

yes these things is comman in highways..
they are scavenger eating dogs and other animals hit by other fellow drivers and finally they will be the victim.
i have seen many of these on the bangalore - mysore highway..
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT]

rks · 26th September 2006, 17:06

Happened to me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, while at 130 kmph. The bird was on the road, I saw it just as it saw my car and took off, but too late -- I could only watch in horror as the bird rapidly approached my windscreen and hit it with a sickening thud -- saw it fall in my rear-view mirror. The stain on the windscreen could be cleaned off. But I take pride in not killing birds/animals on the road, and this one hurt. Not that I could have done much about it -- any sudden braking or swerving would have finished me off along with the bird.

condor · 26th September 2006, 21:01

Not a hit, but :

Was driving up from Arches NP, UT towards Rocky Mountain NP. Went up 191, and turned east at Cresent Junction, onto I-70. Not too long after that saw a sign board saying 'Eagles on Road'.

Has anyone seen this particular sign? Wonder what it was abt. And how I wish I had shot that sign.

Harrie · 26th September 2006, 23:30

Has happened to me twice. Both times on the Mysore - Gundulpet strech. One bird hit smack on teh windshield when I was doing about 90kmph. The other time it hit the front skirts. Both times the poor birdy ended up dead.

I noticed a very funny thing - This little grey color birds you see on the Sathyamangalam range, Gundulpet, Wayanad hills etc., seem to be so casual about cars. They see the car coming and decide to move out of the way by hopping! They fly only at the last moment. I

ts a battle of nerves I guess and its me who usually gives up and brakes. Tells on my average speed very badly

vivekiny2k · 26th September 2006, 23:55

interesting, i also got hit in an impala in june, by a small stone though, left a crack in the windshield. thankfully we had full insurance. no questions asked.

Stratos · 27th September 2006, 00:35

I had a rather worse experience. On my way back from Surat to Mumbai, two dogs fighting with each other stuck my front right fender from the side. They just came no where from the road. As I was not all that fast, none of them were injured, but my fender got a dent!

Jomz · 27th September 2006, 09:16

Herd that usually happens on MiG 21's.. seems that team bhp'ans are driving too high... JOke okay.. No offence meant

prabuddhadg · 27th September 2006, 10:33

Happened to me a few years back. I was on my bicycle in Calcutta; Eastern Bypass at five in the morning. Almost no traffic. Enjoying the greenery; cool breeze in my hair (I still had some left then); the exhileration of pedalling hard. I was doing about 40kmph, and moving steadily.
All of a sudden, something hit me on the left of my face with a huge thud. On my ear it felt so loud, I was deafened for a moment. As I turned to look, I had barely noticed something dark on my leg, when I seemed to have hit a wall again on my left, and I scraped on and on against it. I went scraping for three seconds or more, and as I scraped, I realised I had fallen on the road. The road had felt like a wall. As I scraped, I pushed against this "wall", but only peeled more skin off my hands and elbows (I was still going quite fast). As soon as I stopped, I sat up to find out what had hit me. About twenty five feet behind me, lay a dead crow.
That was what had hit me, and as I fell, I squashed it, poor crow.
Now I assessed the damage. Apart from a lot of bleeding from my face, elbow, knees and fingertips, I was at least unbroken. People from passing car craned their necks to make sure I could get up, and they were off. So much for good human spirits.
Anyway, I got home, about six km from there, with the bike stuck on the highest gear. When my brother heard a crow had done all this damage, he suggested, -say a jackdaw did it, will make a bigger impact.

Sush · 27th September 2006, 10:43

Not with birds but with big insects, moths etc. While driving on the GT road, the windsheild gets dirty with their remains. Sometimes you can see big insects coming right in your direction and the reflex action is to close one's eyes for a second or two.

elf · 27th September 2006, 11:41

A friend of mine was driving his M800 down Marine Drive (Bombay) one Sunday morning at about 40-50kmh. Both his front windows were down & it was a lovely day.

Out of the blue, a pigeon flew in from the front left window, whacked the front passenger headrest, & started flapping like crazy around the inside of the 800.

My friend, being an unflappable Tamilian, calmly reached across for the bird, grabbed it by it's wing & flung it out of his side window, where it cartwheeled off into orbit.

All this whilst maintaining his speed...

Dippy · 27th September 2006, 12:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stratos

I had a rather worse experience. On my way back from Surat to Mumbai, two dogs fighting with each other stuck my front right fender from the side. They just came no where from the road. As I was not all that fast, none of them were injured, but my fender got a dent!

Well well Stratos i sure remember that one. What happened to the FIR we were discussing that time around ?

26th September 2006, 15:32	#1
vikrantw1 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 109 Thanked: 10 Times	Hi - Usually when we talk of bird hits on cars - its more the park statue variety - and everything - despite the cursing (at that moment) - is cleared up with a rag- and soap water But not in this case So here is the situation - last year - was in Minneapolis - and with 2 of my friends decided to head to Mt. Rushmore ( in South Dakota- all those presidents carved on rock) - on the 4th of july weekend Just for information , South Dakota is one of the emptiest states in the USA - nothing for miles - and all undulating prairie land - and naturally everyone drives 20 miles or more above the speed limit - so there we were whizzing at around 160 Kph - on cruise control - rental impala - I was driving - hardly any car in site - and suddenly this bird - on the side of the highway - takes off perpendicular to it - hits the front window - deflects off it - onto the external rear view mirror and then falls off taking the godammed mirror with it !(just the mirror - not the casing) So we drove in the right lane till the next town ( which was 80 miles away) - and next day got another car - but the lady there - when I filled out the accident report - was giving me real strange looks ! Even some of my friends still maintain that I made it up - and I actually brushed against a pillar or something - the truth is stranger than fiction But would be good to know if any of the people here had a similar experience
	() Thanks

26th September 2006, 16:10	#2
n_aditya Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Namma Bengaluru Posts: 5,348 Thanked: 3,684 Times View My Garage	I had a similar experience once long back... when i was driving from blore to mysore.... a bird zeroed in to my rear door and i thought some kid flung a shoe at the car... when i stopped and looked back i saw the poor bird was injured... and my car thankfully was not damaged in any way.... btw did the rental insurance cover help in your case? must have been quite an effort convincing the rental staff....
	() Thanks

26th September 2006, 16:19	#3
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Has happened to me too. Was driving from Nagpur to bangalore, and after a few kms into andhra heard a little thud. Ignored it. Reached a dhaba to take break, and what I see is that the indica bumper, light and some part of bonnet is smeared with blood. Feathers in the air dam/grill were the giveaway of a bird hit. rural highways with lots of bullock cart movement(ferrying grains etc.,) have this problem. These birds rush for food, and its very difficult to aviod them.
	() Thanks

26th September 2006, 16:30	#4
suman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kolkata Posts: 4,589 Thanked: 279 Times View My Garage	Couple of months back....Rajokri flyover heading towards Gurgaon at about 7.30 in the morning, doing around 110kmph; low flying bird hit the passenger side of the front windscreen and was a goner. There was a sharp sound, some feathers got sprayed on the windscreen, that was about it....luckily no damage to the glass, had it been a heavier bird perhaps the glass would have shattered.....lucky me, poor bird
	() Thanks

26th September 2006, 16:52	#5
Mr.Bangalore BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bengalooru Posts: 368 Thanked: 55 Times View My Garage	yes these things is comman in highways.. they are scavenger eating dogs and other animals hit by other fellow drivers and finally they will be the victim. i have seen many of these on the bangalore - mysore highway.. [FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT]
	() Thanks

26th September 2006, 17:06	#6
rks BANNED Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: ?? Posts: 1,238 Thanked: 17 Times	Happened to me on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, while at 130 kmph. The bird was on the road, I saw it just as it saw my car and took off, but too late -- I could only watch in horror as the bird rapidly approached my windscreen and hit it with a sickening thud -- saw it fall in my rear-view mirror. The stain on the windscreen could be cleaned off. But I take pride in not killing birds/animals on the road, and this one hurt. Not that I could have done much about it -- any sudden braking or swerving would have finished me off along with the bird.
	() Thanks

26th September 2006, 21:01	#7
condor Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Speed-brkr City Posts: 15,864 Thanked: 16,014 Times View My Garage	Not a hit, but : Was driving up from Arches NP, UT towards Rocky Mountain NP. Went up 191, and turned east at Cresent Junction, onto I-70. Not too long after that saw a sign board saying 'Eagles on Road'. Has anyone seen this particular sign? Wonder what it was abt. And how I wish I had shot that sign.
	() Thanks

26th September 2006, 23:30	#8
Harrie BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: KA 03, KL 12, TN 38 Posts: 701 Thanked: 36 Times View My Garage	Has happened to me twice. Both times on the Mysore - Gundulpet strech. One bird hit smack on teh windshield when I was doing about 90kmph. The other time it hit the front skirts. Both times the poor birdy ended up dead. I noticed a very funny thing - This little grey color birds you see on the Sathyamangalam range, Gundulpet, Wayanad hills etc., seem to be so casual about cars. They see the car coming and decide to move out of the way by hopping! They fly only at the last moment. I ts a battle of nerves I guess and its me who usually gives up and brakes. Tells on my average speed very badly
	() Thanks

26th September 2006, 23:55	#9
vivekiny2k Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: cincinnati, jabalpur,chennai Posts: 1,264 Thanked: 209 Times View My Garage	interesting, i also got hit in an impala in june, by a small stone though, left a crack in the windshield. thankfully we had full insurance. no questions asked.
	() Thanks

27th September 2006, 00:35	#10
Stratos Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,609 Thanked: 1,449 Times View My Garage	I had a rather worse experience. On my way back from Surat to Mumbai, two dogs fighting with each other stuck my front right fender from the side. They just came no where from the road. As I was not all that fast, none of them were injured, but my fender got a dent!
	() Thanks

27th September 2006, 09:16	#11
Jomz BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Detroit, MI,USA Posts: 834 Thanked: 335 Times	Herd that usually happens on MiG 21's.. seems that team bhp'ans are driving too high... JOke okay.. No offence meant
	() Thanks

27th September 2006, 10:33	#12
prabuddhadg BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 812 Thanked: 81 Times View My Garage	Happened to me a few years back. I was on my bicycle in Calcutta; Eastern Bypass at five in the morning. Almost no traffic. Enjoying the greenery; cool breeze in my hair (I still had some left then); the exhileration of pedalling hard. I was doing about 40kmph, and moving steadily. All of a sudden, something hit me on the left of my face with a huge thud. On my ear it felt so loud, I was deafened for a moment. As I turned to look, I had barely noticed something dark on my leg, when I seemed to have hit a wall again on my left, and I scraped on and on against it. I went scraping for three seconds or more, and as I scraped, I realised I had fallen on the road. The road had felt like a wall. As I scraped, I pushed against this "wall", but only peeled more skin off my hands and elbows (I was still going quite fast). As soon as I stopped, I sat up to find out what had hit me. About twenty five feet behind me, lay a dead crow. That was what had hit me, and as I fell, I squashed it, poor crow. Now I assessed the damage. Apart from a lot of bleeding from my face, elbow, knees and fingertips, I was at least unbroken. People from passing car craned their necks to make sure I could get up, and they were off. So much for good human spirits. Anyway, I got home, about six km from there, with the bike stuck on the highest gear. When my brother heard a crow had done all this damage, he suggested, -say a jackdaw did it, will make a bigger impact.
	() Thanks

27th September 2006, 10:43	#13
Sush BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Noida, New York Posts: 308 Thanked: 2 Times	Not with birds but with big insects, moths etc. While driving on the GT road, the windsheild gets dirty with their remains. Sometimes you can see big insects coming right in your direction and the reflex action is to close one's eyes for a second or two.
	() Thanks

27th September 2006, 11:41	#14
elf BANNED Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,039 Thanked: 13 Times View My Garage	Of Tamilians & Pigeons... A friend of mine was driving his M800 down Marine Drive (Bombay) one Sunday morning at about 40-50kmh. Both his front windows were down & it was a lovely day. Out of the blue, a pigeon flew in from the front left window, whacked the front passenger headrest, & started flapping like crazy around the inside of the 800. My friend, being an unflappable Tamilian, calmly reached across for the bird, grabbed it by it's wing & flung it out of his side window, where it cartwheeled off into orbit. All this whilst maintaining his speed...
	() Thanks