Trapping

The bal-chatri

A small wire cage covered in monofilament nooses, baited with a live animal inside. It is the most effective trap for obtaining your first Red-tailed Hawk and the most effective trap for small hawks outside migration. Small round versions are made specifically for Kestrels and baited with mice or small birds; larger ones baited with pigeons take goshawks, Cooper's Hawks and red-tails.

The noosed pigeon (pigeon harness)

Probably the most effective method for large non-migratory species. It lets the falconer approach hunting hawks perched along a road. Most hawks do not fear a vehicle that keeps moving, and the sight of a handicapped pigeon from a moving car triggers the kill response in many raptors. You need landowner permission, and often department of transportation authorisation.

Nets

A mist net is not a dho-gazza, despite the resemblance. Mist nets were originally made of human hair to trap small birds in Japan and China, and use fine strands and bulky pockets. The dho-gazza, from Asia Minor and later Arabia and India, uses a smaller heavier gill-net style mesh to funnel and trap birds. Different concept, different trap.

For fall migration trapping of a passage red-tail, a bow net or mist net set on a ridge running northeast to southwest is the classic approach.

Precautions

When trapping your first hawk you should have your sponsor with you (the law requires it for an Apprentice) and you should take the ordinary safety precautions with traps and with the roadside. Carry your falconry license on your person while capturing raptors, and get landowner permission on private land or administering agency permission on public land, before you set anything.

Transport a wild-caught bird in a dark padded box, ideally hooded. Never upside down; raptors are not built for it and struggling in restraint strains joints and muscles. Wire and uncovered cages cause extensive feather damage.