Nature Done Wright

   This piece of leather is a traditional jess, once used by falconers as a sort of leg leash for their raptors. These single strips of leather jesses have been replaced by more sophisticated versions.

   The jess in question was found attached to a Barn Owl in an abandoned building in the Meadowlands by Celery Farm Marsh Warden Emeritus Stiles Thomas many years ago.

   Congrats to John Workman for getting the right answer!