Two capture techniques for American White Pelicans and Great Blue Herons

We describe two techniques for capturing American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), Great Blue Herons (Ardrea herodias), and other lar ge wa ding birds in aquatic habitats. One technique involved using #3 padded jaw leghold traps modified by replacing both factory coil springs with weaker # 1.5 coil springs, to reduce the closing force of the jaws, and replacing th e factory chain with a length of aircraft cable and an elastic shock-cord, to minimize injury caused by lunging. The second technique involved using a modified portable rocket net that can be set in shallow water. We captured 142 American White Pelicans and 23 Great Blue Herons using these two techn iques. We describe situations Lest suited for the optimum use of each techn ique. Both methods are humane and cost, labor; and time efficient.