Heck no, nothing at all taken personally Cecil. But, really I've hunted and fished an awful lot of different landscapes that were loaded with game and/or fish with no positive results.
When I step into another creatures environment, I have to figure that they know a lot more about my whereabouts than I do of theirs. Mama Nature has equipped them with senses that my ancestors haven't had for an awful lot of years. If it weren't that way, it would be catching and shooting instead of fishing and hunting.
Just think about how many big fish see my lure on any given fishing trip. And I don't think it is usually the wrong lure. It's just that the fish are conditioned to my foot steps on the side of the pond or see the boat or line or... But sometimes they make a mistake.
Passenger pigeons evidently didn't get the message. Or maybe it wasn't me hunting them.
I guess my point is I'm not sure we should be advocating shooting federally protected birds on a public forum especially by a moderator.
And to be honest with you there was a time when I thought shooting was the most effective response, and even bought federal permits to do so for my small scale farm. However I firmly believe there are nonlethal ways to take care of problem animals that work 24/7 even when you are not around.
Back when I shot herons I found out they were soon replaced by other birds and some just came in nocturnally, so shooting was not as effective as I thought. And I can think of better things to do with $100.00 for the permit fee than handing it over to the government. I've flushed more than one heron from my ponds on a moonlit night.
