Bird magnet?

[jlmotox]

Anyone else driving a bird killing machine?

No other vehicle in my last 25yrs of driving has ever hit a bird but this Ranger has already taken out 3! Something with the adaptive cruise or bliss?? The crow I hit at 55 mph crossed in front of me then did a 180 and came back and got hit. Quite the thud when it hit but no damage...

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[P. A. Schilke]

Anyone else driving a bird killing machine?

No other vehicle in my last 25yrs of driving has ever hit a bird but this Ranger has already taken out 3! Something with the adaptive cruise or bliss?? The crow I hit at 55 mph crossed in front of me then did a 180 and came back and got hit. Quite the thud when it hit but no damage...

Hi Jeff,

I can recount several awful experiences.

Bird hit number one. We were heading back home in our Alfa RV with little 2007 Ranger in tow. We had been gone on a 3 month trip across the USA. We were outside Tucson heading south on I10 heading home when a bird hit the passenger windshield that is about 4' by 4.5'. We were at about 55mph and the bird head on at what ever speed a diving bird is traveling. We had bird parts, feathers and beaks all over the windshield, so we pulled to the side of the road to figure out how to clean up the mess. A local police man saw us pull over and did so as well in front of the RV which had its 4 ways on. He saw our plight...said YUK and got back in his cruiser and left. Soap and water did not really work, but a mixture of 409, dawn dish soap and hot water got us cleaned up after about 30 minutes.

Bird hit, take two. Our team was at the handling track testing our SCCA Ranger Race truck...(see separate threads) and this bird hit the front of the Ranger when I was at about 105 mph. The whole radiator was covered with bird parts and I began to overheat so backed out of the throttle and pulled into the "pits". The Livernoise mechanics that were helping asked me what was wrong and I told them I hit a bird. The hood was lifted and all I can say was the mechanics said YUK... we terminated the test session and the mechanics were trying to see who back at the garage would have to clean the radiator of the bird parts. To the bar for a beer....

Bird hit three. Me again behind the wheel of our SCCA test mule. Coming around a left hand sweeper on the handling track I saw Canada Geese that landed in the turn. I backed out of the throttle and the geese took off but this one goose rose above the hood level in flight right in front of me. The goose slid up the hood and hit the windshield...It then unloaded its bowles on the windshield and skidded off the truck roof and did a barrel roll and flew off. Again pulled in with a windshied full of goose shit. Again...Livernoise mechanics... YUK. Another test session terminated and we headed to the bar for a beer and home.... Sheesh!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Fleckbass]

Had a bird Fly into the side yesterday. Wonder if it's because the vehicle is so quiet. Another thought, isn't there radar?

 

[DaytonBenson]

Phil, this may be the best entry ever on this forum! I laughed so hard.

I have hit a bird in my neighborhood in my ranger, first bird strike ever.

 

[Texasota]

I have not had this happen yet but it sounds like these kamikaze birds don’t like Ford Rangers.

 

[12Bravo20]

I haven't had a bird hit my Ranger yet. I have had a few hit my Jeep Cherokee. The worst for me was when I rode motorcycles, I had a lot of very very close calls with turkey vultures. I don't know if I was more worried about getting taken out by a turkey vulture or having one puke on me.

 

[Dhass68]

 

[BHunted]

Never hit one, but close. BUT, they like attacking it during mating season. They see their reflections and try beat the other bird up. Or they sit on the edge of the rubber side windows and look at themselves in the side view mirrors. Most are those dang mocking birds. What retards. They crap all over it too while performing their admiring in the mirror or attacking it.

 

[IdahoRanger]

I've hit just about everything from birds to bears but not yet in the Ranger.

 

[AzScorpion]

Never once, not even a close call. Now these nasty pigeons just love sitting on my solar panels and crapping all over them and everything else. I've never seen so many of these flying cockroaches until I moved to AZ!

 

[Sarge104]

It then unloaded its bowles on the windshield and skidded off the truck roof and did a barrel roll and flew off. Again pulled in with a windshied full of goose shit.

It preformed the patented StarFox maneuver a little too late...

 

[mtbikernate]

haven't hit anything but bugs with mine yet.

last summer a vehicle in front of me creamed a turkey vulture at about 60mph. that was carnage.

years ago, a woodchuck tried to attack my dad in his truck. thing saw him coming, ran at him, and reared up on its hind legs to try to take a chunk out of the bumper. stupid feller took one to the noggin and did the ol undercarriage rumble. Even ran off afterward.

 

[Big Blue]

Phil, thanks for the story, I needed a good laugh this morning!

Living in Wisconsin I've had a few close calls with deer, even had one run into me. Nothing with Ranger yet. ?
Did hit a pheasant with my motorcycle, he flaired out of a ditch and glanced off my helmet. He layed stunned on the road, I swung around and wrung his neck. Very tasty and no lead pellets.

 

[rang19ca]

I haven't hit one with my Ranger, but years ago an owl hit my left A pillar hard enough to crack the windshield in the dark early morning. I had no idea what hit me except there were small feathers stuck to the windshield trim, so I went back after sun up and saw a dead owl.

 

[egilbe]

My brother and I used to ride together on weekend drills. Crows would sit on the side of the road doing what crows do, eating roadkill and whatnot. We always tried to hit them, but we never did. They always flew away. At the time I had a Ford LTD II Police package special. Big old boat, and one day I actually hit a crow doing about 60. It bounced off the windshield and I swear that glass bowed in 6 inches. That was the last time either of us tried to hit a crow with a car.

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