My grill tried to dice a fat pigeon a few weeks back. Damn thing was so fat it could hardly fly. It was too big to go through. Although the front of the car was covered with enough feathers to fill a small pillow!

Scoob 1, Pigeon 0 (garaged so it's mates can't get revenge )

[Edited by ALi-B - 7/1/2003 12:42:30 AM]

 

On the way home the other day a bird darted out of the hedge and I braked to avoid it, looked behind, nothing on road, so I assumed it got away.

This evening when I lifted the bonnet to check the oil etc I found the poor little chap lying dead on the intercooler with a few feathers blocking the fins. He must have flown down the air scoop.

I know that Sparrows are a protected species and I'm not happy to have taken one out in such a way.

Has anyone got any suggestions how I might avoid this happening again or have you suffered from a similar incident?

[Edited by goober - 1/17/2003 7:29:40 PM]

 

dont drive so fast and stop driving through bushes

 

You could use a mesh screen under the I/C scoop - there's several threads on SNet about "meshing-up" cars.

 

I thought this was going to say Kylie!! Didn't realise you meant a bird of the feathered kind

[Edited by STi wanna Subaru - 1/17/2003 7:53:24 PM]

 

This happened to me in Wales. I was going round a slowish corner at 40 mph when a small bird flew in front of the car from a hedge. I saw the bird hit the front and roll over the bonnet disappearing down the scoop I pulled into the verge as soon as safely possible, stopped and lifted the bonnet. Laying on top of the intercooler was a female Chaffinch. I gracefully placed it in the grass by the roadside

I reckon it was killed upon impact with the car front, as our feathered friends are very fragile.

 

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Chaffinches are sooo cuute.

 

Perhaps a group buy on FMIC ?

My girlfriend loves animals so perhaps I lave an angle

David

[Edited by Shark - 1/17/2003 8:33:33 PM]

 

My girlfriend got a whole crow stuck on the radiator and was driving the Scooby around with its feet sticking out beside the numberplate. It bent some fins but luckily did not burst its guts open everywhere.

 

Sorry to hear about the Chaffinch Yorkie, I feel a bit guilty now as I just tossed the corpse into the wheelie bin.

Not too sure about a mesh screen, would it stand up to a more sturdy bird, say a Blackbird?

Similarly I am concerned that the FMIC may be vulnerable to impacts by: dogs,cats,foxes etc.

As to Kylie, she could sit on my intercooler any time, I've always thought she has quite a hot ****! Worried she might bend the fins though!

Still struggling to find a way forward?

 

ehh - goober terrorising the wildlife again !

 

you could always glue a cat to your bonnet...that should keep the birds away
andy

 

Don't people de-cat their scoobs rather than re-catting them?

John

 

Don't start the cat argument up again!


Still PMSL over the previous one.

 

I had an accident with a pheasant over the Crimbo period. Made a good dent in the nearside front wing (just above the relector). Got a spare wing, but the body shop told me that they could fix the old one. Costed 150 big ones, but the car is good as the day it left the showroom now.

What really gets me is that it is the first time that I have ever hit anything. Poor pheasant - many a sleepless nights after that saga I can tell you. Thoughts of a poor pheasant coming to haunt me!!!!!!!!!!

 

pheasant a xmas......i'd have eaten him for doin that to me car lol

 

Saw a blackbird disappear under the car early one morning a while ago - thought no more about it until next time I was fiddling about under the bonnet & noticed that there was a small bird skellington stuck to the bottom of the radiator..

Thankfully, car was due a service so I left it there for the garage to find - thought that it was time that they got an unpleasant surprise from me ;-)

 

Drive back from uni one night, there was a partridge stood right in the middle of the road in front of me. I just missed it, but the pear tree instead !

 

What about a scarecrow on the bonnet?

 

Watch it: I hit a deer and my car has been haunted ever since!

 

Thanks for all the advice and support everyone. I may have a workable idea...

I was looking at the RSPB website earlier and apparently some people have a problem with birds trying to fly through their houses and coming to grief when they collide with the windows.

The suggested solution is to put a picture of a bird of prey in the window, the silouette of the hawk is enough to scare them off, hence saving their lives.

My solution will be to paste a picture of Kestrel onto each of the foglights, (the foglights don't seem to be much use anyway), I will then be able to travel about projecting, (in a Batman style), two huge scary bird eating killers. With any luck this should do the trick.

Has anyone tried this and does anyone have any advice as to the most effective bird of prey to use?

 

Not kidding about my car being haunted....check this out!! if you don't believe me!

 

Goober

At least you don't have an STi8 scoop. I'm sure you could catch an Albatross with that

 

a couple of years ago an RAF hawk from valley was doing circuits at mona, the second airfield on anglesey. as it took off it was hit by what was eventually identified as a sparrow and suffered total engine failure, it went through the arrester curtain and eventually ended up parked in a hedge killing a hedgehog that was sleeping there.

now thats an unlucky hedgehog

 

Picture of sparrow (now deceased) in the front mesh of an Evo 6



Andy

 

Goober don't feel too guilty, If it was a sparrow, They are classed as vermin & not a protected species & millions of them exist all over the world. I think it rater cruel of you though killing the little Birdie becasuse it blew you away on a 0 - 60 standing start from the hedgerow junction.
Dean
Oh yes forgot to add, you could also paint a Zebra Crossing on your bonnet to stop pedestrians getting knocked over when they step out infront [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

[Edited by DeanF - 1/21/2003 11:54:30 AM]

 

Get a louder exhaust they will fly the other way then.

 

I had to pull a small bird out of the radiator of a previous car with a pair of pliers as it had got completely wedged in. It made a bit of a mess, especially when pulling it out bit by bit.

Only had bugs in the scoob though ... so far! But mesh on the air intake sounds like a good way to stop this happening.

Not sure that a FMIC would make any difference though, unless you completely blocked up the scoop? Mind you, you could cook the birds nicely on the engine when they do get in and stop for luch along the way. Just an idea

BB

 

Err, thanks for the pic EVO RSX and the pliers, Baby Blue what can I say! It has brought the sad memories flooding back though.

Do you think there are enough of us to start a support group? We could apply for a lottery grant? As Pete Croney rightly points out there could soon be more of us in this boat once the STI 8's hit the street, we should prepare for this.

I have been thinking in a slightly different direction though. It should be possible to make a small cage from chicken wire that would fit on top of the intercooler and not foul the bonnet. Into this could be placed about 5 - 6 small birds, eg, Robins, Bluetits, Wrens etc. Their fluttering wings would help to force air through the intercooler and hence produce more power. I guess the system would be, to an extent, self regulating. In that as the intercooler heated up, the birds would sense this through their feet, and flap harder.

Any ideas on what sort of power increase I could be looking at? (UK 96, full decat, ITG filter)

 

Goober,

It depends how many bones the birds break.
I.e, 4 Broken Bones = Increase of 4 Brake