Hey there, thanks for the kind words! There's one feather you can get from the start. I won't say exactly which or where, but it's in the lower portion of the map. If you want a more specific hint, just let me know :)
Once you get that one you'll have a couple more options you could grab, and then you can choose your path from there. There should have been 1-2 more feathers you could grab from the start, but I didn't think that through at the time. Sorry for the confusion with the vines, I can totally see why that might happen!