I've said this to three or four people in the past month

[conuly]

which is weird, because most years I hardly say it at all.

Anyway, maybe saying it here will keep me from having to say it for a while!

If you're in the USA then you should know that it's not lawful to possess the feathers, eggs, nests, or any other item from or connected to most native birds. Yes, even if the bird shed that feather naturally or the egg and nest is from two years ago and isn't being used. This is a matter of international treaty.

Probably nobody's going to chase you down over it unless you're doing the very thing the law is intended to prevent, that is, selling those items or, worse, killing birds - but you should probably not post public photos about it either, not even on relatively unknown sites like Dreamwidth. Just keep your private feather collection private.

Comments

[jhetley]

Wife's nature center had to get a special license to keep a Victorian monstrosity of stuffed songbirds cased in glass. It had been left to them in a will.

[conuly]

Is the, uh, monstrosity worth it?

[jhetley]

Aesthetically, no. But the woodworking and the individual glass bubbles show a high level of craftsmanship.