A decision was made to try and lure the Hornbill with the leg ring closer and a plan was hatched to achieve this. A series of leg snares as used by the Vulture monitoring group to catch Vultures gathering at carcasses for ringing purposes was going to be used on this occasion. This decision was made as the cage method had not been particularly effective when used in the past. The plan was to put a decoy Hornbill in position where the bird was last observed. Taped recordings of Hornbill vocalisations would then be played which should induce the resident bird to approach and investigate. As it approaches the decoy it hopefully gets caught in one of a series of leg traps set up around the decoy. The team waiting and observing can then quickly approach and catch the bird. The ring could then be re-assessed and replaced if necessary The decoy bird, a magnificent specimen. Note the series of trap lines on the ground around the decoy A close-up image of one of the trap lines A speaker was placed near the decoy to transmit the vocalisation recordings in an attempt to lure the bird closer Vocalisations as used on the day Unfortunately the best laid plans of mice and men do not always work. After persevering for several hours it was evident that the Hornbill was not responding. We did have one Rhino Bull approach and sniff around for a while before moving off. Luckily he did not do any damage to the decoy or the speaker. It was decided that if the bird was observed again a more rapid response would be triggered to arrive and do the set up as soon as possible as their territories are large and when not on nesting duties etc birds can roam far and wide. We suspect that this is what may have occurred and that the bird had moved off and was out of earshot during our first attempt
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