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Article: Grackles No Feathered Friend in Fort Worth; City Business Group Considers Hiring Hawk Handlers to Disperse 'Nuisance Birds'
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- February 17, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Kujo perched on a tree branch in downtown Fort Worth's Burnett
Plaza, warily watching for prey.
No grackles or starlings were in sight.
Instead, a man raised his arm.
Kujo, a 2-year-old Harris's hawk, quickly flew low and fast
through the chilly morning air to reach the outstretched arm of
Roger Crandall, his handler.
Rewarded with pieces of mouse meat, he knew that next time, his
bounty could be bigger.
Kujo and his working mate, Blackjack, could be the newest tools
in the city's efforts to drive out grackles -- long known as
downtown's feathered menace.
Recent changes in federal law, prompted by local falconers and
officials, allow special permits to be issued so the hawks' handlers
can ...