Hi Everyone,
I work for a non-profit bird research group in Florida and we are getting ready to start our Short-tailed Hawk trapping season (November 5 to December 11) in the Florida Keys. We have used starlings as "bait/lure" and they seem to entice the hawks very well. We have been unsuccessful in locating starlings to use for our trapping season and were wondering if you may have a few on hand that may be shipped to FL? Better yet, if there is anyone in Florida that has starlings, or can trap them, we would pick them up.
The lure bird is fitted with a leather harness attached to a swivel located at the top. We connect the swivel to a string that we are able to operate from a blind to make the bird fly up and flutter to the ground. This attracts the hawk into the trap and the lure bird is usually unharmed.
We were just granted the money to do this research at the last minute, thus my urgent search for lure birds.
Any information on who may have starlings in captivity or someone who can trap them easily would be very helpful. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Gina Zimmerman
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