Hawk Trap

(see picture at bottom)

 Note to all non state/federally permitted individuals:
Sever Federal and state pelenties are in place
for harrassing, killing, trapping, possessing any part
of a raptor (even just feathers) etc.  It is strongly
recommended that you become familiar with these
regualtions before becoming involved with raptor
related activities.

The Swedish Goshawk Trap

By HEINZ MENG, Department of Biological Sciences

State University College, New Paltz, New York

MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

The trap consists of two parts: the trap proper and the bait cage. The trap is made of redwood lumber using I" x 6", 1" x 3", and 1 x 2" stock. Redwood waschosen for its resistance to warping and to weather and because of its dark colour. Painting is, therefore, not necessary.The bait cage is made of   I" x 1" galvanized welded wire and its overall dimensions are 3 x 3 x I foot. An access door of about 10 inches wide is cut intoTo construct the trap proper, four 3-foot pieces of I" x 6" redwood are, Cut. Two of these are then shortened by two board thickness and fastened together withlong wood screws. Throughout the construction of the trap, wood screws arc, used, and all holes are predrilled to prevent splitting. The finished a 3-foot square. Next, four pieces 25 x 1 x 3 inches are cut with 45-degree angle points at the ends. These are screwed to the base square. One piece, 1" x 3" is then attached to the inside of each peak for reinforcement. Next, six pieces of 1 " x 2" redwood stock are cut for the horizontal door pieces. These I" x 2" are two board-widths longer than 3 feet, since the peaks have been fastened to the outsides of the base square. The four vertical door pieces, cut 30 inches long, are fastened in such a way that they extend 4 inches below the bottom horizontal door pieces. This arrangement prevents the doors from opening too far beyond the vertical position when the trap is set. After the doors have been assembled, they are attached to the square base by six hinges-three for each door. We have found brass hinges with fixed pins to be best since they do riot rust and the pins remain in place.The closing mechanism consists of four car-accelerator springs. The long ends of the springs are cut off and eyes formed. The springs are fastened with screw eyes (refer to drawing). When set, the doors of the trap are kept open by a trigger stick made of  1"  x 2" stock 35 inches long and hinged in the middle. Just under the hinge, the butt ends are slightly beveled so that the stick bends upwards slightly when set. This lessens the chance of the trap being sprung prematurely by the wind or by the vibrations of the fluttering birds used for bait. The tension of the springs and the friction keep the trigger stick in position. A raptor jumping down into the trap dislodges or breaks the hinged stick and the doors snap closed. To help keep the trigger stick in position, a finishing nail bent and sharpened to resemble a large staple can be embedded in each door at the spots where the trigger stick is inserted. The middle horizontal door pieces should be fastened only 5 inches above the bottom pieces so that the raptor will be far enough down in the trap so that it will not be hit by the doors when the trap springs shut.To keep the doors from reopening after they have been sprung, catches made of cat hanger wire are fashioned and attached to the top ends of the doors. The catches snap over protruding heads of roundhead screws on each peak. The catch wire is pushed through predrilled holes in the doors, bent in a U-shape, Pulled and hammered back, and secured. The other end is then bent and adjusted so that it snaps over the screw head and locks the door securely.To keep the raptors in the trap and prevent them from being injured, the doors and triangular peak,; are covered loosely with cotton or nylon netting, which should be stapled to the doors before the doors are fastened to the trap. Mesh used in the manufacture of badrninton nets has proved quite satisfactory. Chicken wire should never be used, since the birds can injure themselves badly on it. The trap is attached to the bait cage by means of leather straps threaded through predrilled holes near each corner of the base. This completes the trap. To transport it, the two sections are separated.

SETTING UP

The trap should be placed where it can easily be seen. The four corners of the bait cage must be staked down so that the wind cannot blow the trap over. When there is snow on the ground, we place a flat board on the bottum of the bait cage for the comfort of the bait birds. Also, a stiff piece of clear plastic, about afoot square, is fastened to the center of the top of the. cage. This gives the bait birds some protection from the weather and allows them to be easily seen by the raptors. Our traps have usually been baited with pigeons because they are hardy, easily obtained, and they move around enough to attract attention. Generally, two birds were used per trap.