Let the Audubon Society feed the

Let the Audubon Society feed the Coopers

By Mark Karges
Riverside, California

Last October I had a pigeon auction at the Fall River Racing Pigeon Club in Massachusetts under the supervision of Mr. Bill Desmarais. One of the buyers from the Auction, David Waddington of Connecticut and I have been communicating ever since. He was a new flyer. One day in a phone conversation the topic of Hawk Problems came up.

Every flyer or pigeon person who lets his pigeons out has had to deal with this problem around his property. With the arrest of all the roller guys last year and in an effort not to be breaking any State or Federal laws I've been looking for alternative solutions.

The late Admiral "Blackie" Weinel told me several years ago how to deal with the Cooper hawk problem and I did it this way for years. He said to raise one baby pigeon for yourself and one for the hawks. In 2006 I started with 97 young birds and by the end of that season I finished with seven birds. That was when I seriously started looking for other ways to solve the problem. And that was also when I started trying to take some of the responsibility for poor loft management which was directly responsible for the pigeon losses.

For the people that don't know me, it always seems that I live in a cooper hawk breeding territory. To say that they have been a problem is an understatement. I've averaged losing over 100 birds a year from October to January. There never seemed to ever be any relief. They were here all year long.

So right after the arrests of the Roller guys I contacted the California State Dept of Fish and Game and asked them for help. I was hoping that they would come out and trap these Cooper hawks that were killing my pigeons and relocate them. The lady on the phone said they didn't have the resources and there was nothing they could do. She transferred my call to the Federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Secretary there transferred my call to a Federal Investigator named Sam Jojola in Torrance, California. After talking to him he told me that he was the arresting officer in the case on the roller guys and running the continuing undercover investigation. He was shocked to have a phone call from a racing pigeon guy. Evidently, I was the first person to ever call and to ask for help with the Cooper Hawks. I was sincere and was really looking for help and a legal way to solve this issue.

He was cordial and recommended some options. One, to get the California State Fish and game to compensate me for all the pigeons lost. Two, to have a second team of pigeons to release first and let the Cooper hawks eat them first and then let out my race team. Third, to contact Tammy Tate Hall in the Portland US Fish and Wildlife Service and see if there was any way of obtaining a trapping permit. And fourth to write off the dead pigeons on my tax return as economic losses.

I looked into all four ideas. The State of California Dept of Fish and Game, the secretary laughed at me for even considering the idea of compensation for lost birds. Second the Hawks are not mine and it is not my responsibility to feed them.

I have too big of an expense taking care of my own birds and I can't stand watching the hawks eating the pigeons. I did contact Tammy Tate Hall in Portland and inquired about a trapping permit. I found out they only issue trapping permits to falconers and the trapping period is from October 1st to January 31st. She said the president of the California Hawking club is Mr. Jim DeRogue of Sacramento, California. He is also a firefighter. Tammy said he may know some falconer who was looking for a Cooper Hawk to train and fly for sport.

I contacted Jim and he gave me a name of a falconer in my area Mr. Dave Peterson. We talked but he didn't know anyone looking for a Cooper Hawk. He said most falconers want a Peregrine Falcon or Red tail Hawk. The fourth idea from Mr. Sam Jojola wouldn't work unless the pigeons were a business and your income. I also contacted Mrs. Karen Clifton from the A.U. office in Oklahoma. She said the problem is the International treaties protecting the birds of prey. There was nothing the A.U. could do until the laws were changed.

David Peterson told me he is even having problems with wild falcons attacking his falcons during exercise. He also told me that the peregrines have been taken off the endangered species list. He stated that there have never in the history of record keeping been more birds of prey than there are today. Research is showing that birds in general are being eaten at a rate of over 4,000,000 per day and over 7,000,000 a day during the breeding season.

So back to my phone conversation with Mr. David Waddington. He told me he spoke with another flyer on the east coast who didn't seem to have a hawk problem but everyone around him did. So I asked David what this guy did different than the other flyers. The answer was Canadian Geese Decoys.

As dumb as that sounded, I was desperate and in a conversation with Jim Micenec in Ohio he suggested decoys made by a company named Big Foot. So I went to the local Pro Bass Shop and purchased a set of four Canadian Geese. I snapped on their heads and legs and sat them on a wire stand. They look like they are walking.

I picked up a lot of good ideas from other friends. Jeff Travers in South Carolina suggested that the problem in using decoy owls was that they only worked for a day of two. The fact that most people never move them is a problem. The hawks get use to them and then they are ineffective. In speaking to Jim DeRogue he said that as long as the hawks see the decoys as a threat they'll be effective.

So I've been using them since early December 2008 and I'm very happy to say so far so good. The Cooper Hawks are still here but they stay away when the Geese are out. I don't think I've lost one bird since I started using them. My neighbors Jeff Cramer and Julio Lopez have lost several.

I'm a former High School football and wrestling coach so I've tried to look at the pigeons losses as a coach. When my teams lost a game I would watch game films and look for mistakes that we could correct. So I had to look close at my own loft management and correct my mistakes.

So along with the decoys I also made these changes, I had a tree service come in and cut down nine trees and trim another dozen. After I did this two of my neighbors cut down and trimmed their trees too. I stopped free lofting the pigeons. I quit letting them out in the evening. I stopped letting them out right at daybreak. Do not have a small bird feeder on your property. The more small birds a person attacks to his yard, the worse he makes the hawk problem.

I only have the decoys out when the pigeons are out. I put them in a shed after I get the last bird in. The decoys are put out before every training toss. If they are out all day then I move them several times during the day. After the last bird is in, I close my landing board and pigeon stall traps.

I never let the pigeons out unless I have the time to stay out there and get the last bird in. I never leave them alone when they are out. I make sure I go to the bathroom, have breakfast, etc. before I let them out. I do not go in the house to watch a football, baseball game or any other event while the pigeons are out. I only use a cell phone to keep from having to leave them.

When the decoys are out, have I ever seen a hawk come through the yard? The answer to that question is yes. When the hawks are use to your loft being the local grocery store it's going to take some time to get them to shop elsewhere.

My birds are locked up a lot more now. I'm still waiting to see what is going to happen when I try to settle my young birds. I keep the pigeons off the ground. It's the favorite place for the Cooper Hawk to kill your pigeons. If you separate the hens and cocks you do not want the pigeons trying to get in the other section of the loft. Hawks will pick them off the wire. I let young birds get older before I let them out so they can fly away to avoid the Cooper Hawks if they need to.

Saturday Feb. 21, 2009 was the biggest test. I put my pigeons on the training truck for an 80 and a 100 mile training toss. I was missing two pigeons from the 80 mile toss. I wasn't home to get the pigeons in. They have a tendency to go to the ground and that's when they get killed. So I put the decoys under my landing board and in front of my loft for both tosses.

The results were amazing. The two lost pigeons came home a day later. One hundred per cent returns and no losses. The Coopers don't seem to want to take the chance and hunt close to the decoys. I'm not saying it's fool proof but it's working right now.

For the pigeon guys with Falcon problems that a totally different story, but the decoys are working with the Cooper Hawks, Red Tail Hawks, Red Shoulder Hawks and Sharp Shin Hawks. And that in itself is wonderful.

The big secret to protecting the pigeons is keeping them off the ground and keeping your traps closed when the pigeons are in.

I have been seriously trying to figure out why the Canadian Geese Decoys are working and I think I have an answer. I started doing research on predators and they all have one thing in common: to survive they have to be able to hunt so they cannot afford an injury.

The wild geese are a large, mean, aggressive bird that stays in large groups. Their only threat is an eagle. Smaller predators like Sharp Shins or Cooper hawks have no chance against them and risk serious injury if attacked by a goose. I believe the sheer size of the geese is intimidating to the Cooper hawks. What is really interesting is that having the decoys in the yard seems to cause the coopers to leave the area.

During our first race, early in the morning I saw the pair of Coopers flying over my property. I cleaned the loft in preparation of the return of the race birds. I put out the decoys and watched all the pigeons return from the race with no attacks from any bird of prey. I'm so use to seeing all the hawks flying over, like sharks in the sky, but with the decoys in the yard they all stay away. For the first time in years I can put my pigeons on the training truck, go to work and not have piles of feathers all over the yard when I come home.

Whether this is the real reason or not, I don't care; I so thrilled that it's working. Just think, if every pigeon flyer was able to take their pigeons off their local cooper hawks menu and forced the Coopers, Sharp Shins, Red Shoulders, and Red Tails to eat something else, eventually groups like the Audubon Society would have to face a very serious problem with the declining populations in their bird populations and admit that the raptors are the problem.

What is even more impressive is that there is no need for illegal traps, guns, etc. No one can prosecute you for using decoys. Think about it. These decoys are so real looking that they fool even real geese.

As long as you keep moving them and put them away when the pigeons are in, I think they'll continue to work. I'm happy to report that I haven't lost a pigeon on the property since I started with them in early December.

Please remember a statement made to me by Federal Agent Sam Jojola, "It is a Federal Crime to trap, shot or harm the birds of prey in anyway. It is also illegal to have any trapping devices on your property. If they come to your house and find any trapping devices anywhere on your property you are looking at a hefty fine and possible jail time. If they find dead hawks around your property it will cause you problems. Be legal and do the right thing.

These are some suggestions that are helping me. Hopefully they'll be successful for you to.

If anyone wants to contact me about the pigeons or decoys call 951-515-5903 after 2:30 pm pacific time. I'm a school teacher and my administrators do not want contacts during school time.