Lol. you definitely have plenty of qualifications. maybe you're right. I didn't mention that I was studying biology so you could wipe the floor with my non existent qualifications. I didn't think I was being close minded either. I have just had the experience on other forums that people will look at a post, give a quick guess, and other people won't even bother paying attention to what the person is posting about because someone has already kind of closed the question with a quick answer. I'm sure you can understand where I'm coming from with all your qualifications... when you have really analyzed something and have dug for answers (being as intelligent as you are) and as soon as you pose the question, someone comes through and quickly dismisses your question. but I realize you weren't doing that. I should have been nicer. like I said. sorry dude. I'll try to not respond so sharply when people try to help. Even if I have already thought about the possibility of something and dismissed it myself. They could still be right. How about this, if after a few weeks or months go by and new feathers are beginning to appear, we can conclude that it MAY have been a gelatin protected mass of eggs. if not, who knows. Hopefully at some point someone can answer my original question with some certainty...... has anyone seen this before? do you know if they are eggs? =) Lol. It's my first day, and I already love this forum. so exciting. look at the people you get to meet and offend. (not on purpose)