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LICENSE TO KILL COWBIRDS

LAST THOUGHTS ABOUT LICENSE TO KILL

I’ve had a license to kill from the state of Texas since 2010. Truth be told, I’m a member of a sleeper cell, not revealing my identity, just waiting to strike when called upon. But this year has stirred an urge to act. My neighborhood has been overrun with those who need to be vanquished.

LICENSE TO KILL COWBIRDS

Molothrus ater, aka the brown-headed cowbird, is my prey. The bastards have been flocking to my bird feeders in record numbers this year. These dastardly avians are too lazy to build nests. Instead, they drop around three dozen or more eggs in the nests of smaller, unsuspecting songbirds. Because the young cowbird hatches faster, it gets preferential treatment when it comes to food as many birds cannot recognize these foster children. Then, too, the baby cowbirds sometimes toss out eggs and young nestlings. They have been known to smother the baby songbirds as well.

They attack the nests of my favorite, the painted bunting. One 2023 study by the University of North Texas indicated that 13.3 percent of bunting nests in their study area were taken over by the cowbirds, and about half were abandoned.

Other enemies of these gorgeous, feathered creatures are snakes that eat their eggs and climate change.

This is why the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department gives a license to kill parasitic cowbirds. I took a course to learn the intricacies of eradication.

LICENSE TO KILL INSTRUCTIONS

The instructions are quite involved:

Traps should be near where cattle or other livestock graze, be in an area accessible to vehicles, and have water and perching snag (dead trees) nearby.
Trapping should be done between March 1 and May 31.
Traps must contain adequate food, water, and shade and be checked daily.
All non-target birds must be released immediately.
Euthanizing cowbirds must be humane, fast, and certain.
Cervical dislocation is the preferred method to snuff the suckers out.

According to the state:

Cervical dislocation: Hold top of neck between thumb and forefinger, grab head with other hand, turn and lift until you feel the cervical vertebrae detach from the head –HINT: hold the bird away from you when you do this the first few times until you have

the “touch”. A catch box, net, gloves, and a light for night time are useful items to have on hand.

Alternative Dispatch Methods: Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas in a 5-gallon bucket may be used to euthanize brown-headed cowbirds. Use dry ice as the source of carbon dioxide. Cut a hole in the top of the bucket, cover opening with a piece of inner tube, or similar material, that has a slash in it to facilitate putting birds inside. Birds must not be touching the dry ice! Birds should be dead within 20 seconds

LICENSE TO KILL SECOND ALTERNATIVE METHOD

By now, you are probably asking why I don’t just shoot the damn things? I had that question also. It would be a lot easier to stick my .22 out the window and fire than to construct a trap and euthanasia container. (I may be a ruthless killer, but I am not about to wring a bird’s neck.)

Researchers also had the same thought. In a paper entitled Efficacy of Trapping and Shooting in Removing Breeding Brown-Headed Cowbirds, the authors concluded that “Although trapping is the most widely employed removal technique, it may not always be the most appropriate, effective, or efficient removal technique.”

YES!

Interestingly, the above-referenced article was posted on the Texas Parks and Wildlife page dedicated to the control of cowbirds. Was that a subtle hint to tell me they would look the other way if I used a firearm?