When World War II broke out, Britain was gripped by “Fifth Column Neurosis,” an almost universal belief that the country was riddled with enemy spies, not all of them human. Ben MacIntyre writes in the wonderful Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies (Crown, 2012), “When six cows stampeded on the tiny island of Eilean Mor in the Scottish Hebrides, this was immediately ascribed to secret enemy activity. That the spies were invisible was merely proof of how fiendishly clever they were at disguising themselves. Even pigeons were suspect, since it was widely believed that enemy agents had secret caches of homing pigeons around the country that they used to send messages back to Germany.”

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Cher Ami, awarded the French Croix de Guerre, died of his wounds in 1919. His taxidermied remains are on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

Pigeon paranoia was actually a logical response. More than 100,000 pigeons flew missions in World War I, including the heroic Cher Ami, a Black Check cock carrier pigeon, part of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in France. Cher Ami delivered 12 important messages within the American sector at Verdun. On his last mission, on October 4, 1918, he was shot through the breast and leg, but still managed to deliver his message—which saved 194 troops of Major Charles S. Whittlesey’s “Lost Battalion.”

During World War II, some 250,000 pigeons were deployed by the British, part of a special section of MI5 headed by Flight Lieutenant Richard Melville Walker. Walker was convinced, says author MacIntyre, “that Nazi pigeons were…pouring into Britain, by parachute, high-speed motor launch, and by U-boat.” The anti-avian frenzy was so extreme that “Some experts claimed to be able to identify a pigeon with a German ‘accent.’ ”

“Animal-based espionage and sabotage was all the rage among Allied plotters,” explains MacIntyre. British Special Operations Executive agents stuffed dead rats with explosives, while the Americans worked on a plan to attack Japan using Mexican bats carrying incendiaries. But Flight Lieutenant Walker, who “flourished in that gray area between ingenuity and insanity,” says MacIntyre, gets top honors for his Pigeon Contamination Plan.

Walker disguised hundreds of British pigeons as German pigeons (by decking them out with forged leg rings and counterfeit German wing markings), and sent them off to infiltrate and take down the German war machine from within. The plan was a bust, says MacIntyre: “The Germans never detected the double-agent pigeons in their midst.”

Avian spies are still among us. In May 2010, police in Punjab, India, arrested a pigeon believed to be spying for Pakistan. (The bird was kept under armed guard in a special air-conditioned room and refused visitors.) In January 2011, Saudi Arabian officials detained a vulture, stating it was an unwitting Mossad operative. And on December 10, 2012, Sudanese officials in the Darfur region of Sudan arrested a vulture, alleging it was on a surveillance mission for Israel. (The bird’s leg tag was marked “Israel Nature Service” and “Hebrew University, Jerusalem.”)

Oregon Bird Hunting

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For a complete copy of all state laws and federal regulations consult Oregon Administrative Rules, the Oregon Wildlife Code and Federal Migratory Bird Hunting Regulations.

Definitions

• Blue Grouse: Dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) and sooty grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus).
• Canada Goose: Any Canada goose (Branta canadensis) or cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii) including but not limited to the following subspecies; western (B. c. moffitti), Vancouver (B. c. fulva), dusky (B. c. occidentalis), lesser (B.c. parvipes), Taverner’s (B. h. taverneri), Aleutian (B. h. leucopareia), and cackling (B. h. minima).
• Dusky Canada Goose: Any dark-breasted (Munsell 10 YR color value 5 or less) Canada goose with a bill length between 40 and 50 millimeters.
• Eastern Oregon: All cos east of the summit of the Cascades, including all of Klamath and Hood Rvr cos.
• Forest Grouse: Ruffed grouse and blue grouse.
• Game Birds: Any waterfowl, snipe, band-tailed pigeon, mourning dove, pheasant, quail, partridge, grouse, or wild turkey.
• Migratory Game Birds: Ducks (including mergansers), geese, coots, snipe, mourning dove, and band-tailed pigeon.
• Sea Ducks: Harlequin, scoters, long-tailed and eider ducks.
• Upland Game Birds: Pheasant, quail, partridge, grouse, and wild turkey.
• Waterfowl: Ducks (including mergansers), geese and coots.
• Western Oregon: All cos west of the summit of the Cascades, except Klamath and Hood Rvr cos.
• White Geese: Snow and Ross’ geese.

Protected Birds

All birds except European starling, house sparrow, Eurasian collared-dove, and rock pigeon are protected by federal and/or state laws and may not be taken without authorization. Contact the law enforcement branch of the USFWS for Federal regulations regarding take at 503-682-6131.

Hunter Orange

No person younger than 18 years of age shall hunt with any firearm for any game mammal or upland game bird (excluding turkey) unless the person is wearing in a manner visible from all directions a hat or exterior garment of hunter orange. “Exterior garment” means a shirt, jacket, coat, vest, or sweater. Hunter orange camouflage patterns are acceptable. “Hat” means any head covering.

Decoys and Calls

It is unlawful to:

• Hunt game birds or crows by the use or aid of any live birds for decoys.
• Hunt game birds (except for crows) by the use or aid of recorded or electrically amplified bird calls or sounds, or recorded or electrically amplified imitations of bird calls or sounds.
• Hunt game birds with the use of decoys powered by motor, battery, or other self powered methods. Quiver magnets are also illegal. Decoys with parts that are moved solely by human actions (for example, via a cable or pull-string) or the wind are allowed.­

Shooting Hours

All game birds may only be hunted between times specified in the shooting hours table on Shooting Hours, except as noted.

Trespass

It is unlawful to hunt on private property without permission from the landowner. See ORS 105.700 and 498.120.

Aircraft, Boats, Drones, and Motor Vehicles

It is unlawful to:

• Hunt or shoot game birds from a motor driven land conveyance or aircraft of any kind.
• Hunt or shoot game birds with use of a sink box or any other type of low floating device having a depression affording the hunter a means of concealment beneath the surface of the water.
• Drive, rally, or chase any game bird from any motor driven land, water, or air conveyance or sailboat.
• Use drones for the following purposes related to the pursuit of wildlife:
  • Hunting, trapping, or angling.
  • Aiding hunting, trapping, or angling through the use of drones to harass, track, locate or scout wildlife.
  • Interfering in the acts of a person who is lawfully hunting, trapping, or angling.
• Shoot game birds from or with the help of any motorboat or sailboat unless the motor has been shut off and/or sail furled and movement has stopped. Sail and motor-propelled craft may be used only to pick up dead or crippled birds. Crippled birds may not be shot from such craft under power.
• Hunt or harass any wildlife from a motor propelled vehicle.
• Operate a snowmobile or ATV, unless firearms and bows are unloaded except for the following circumstances:
  • A person who is licensed to carry a concealed handgun in Oregon
  • A current or honorably retired law enforcement officer

For this regulation “unloaded” means:

• Revolver — no live cartridge in the chamber that is aligned with the hammer
• Muzzleloader — not capped or primed
• Bow — all arrows in the quiver
• All Other Firearms — no live cartridge in the chamber

See ORS 821.240 for complete statute language.

Baiting

It is unlawful to hunt game birds by aid of baiting, or on, or over a baited area where a person knows or reasonably should know that the area has been baited. A baited area is considered to be baited for 10 days after complete removal of any bait. Baiting includes placing, exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering of salt, grain, or other feed that could serve as a lure or attraction for game birds to, on, or over areas where hunters are attempting to take them.

Disguising Sex

It is unlawful to disguise the sex or kind of any wildlife while in the field or in transit from the field. The head or one fully feathered wing must be left attached to all game birds in the field or while in transit to the place of permanent residence of the possessor.

Note: Private hunting preserves are excluded from this regulation. Further restrictions apply to the Northwest Oregon Permit Goose Zone, see Northwest Permit Goose Zone.

Retrieval/Waste

All game birds killed or crippled must be retrieved immediately, if possible, and kept by the hunter in the field except for internal organs. All crippled birds reduced to possession must be immediately killed.

It is unlawful to waste any game birds or edible portions thereof. Waste means to allow any edible portion of any game bird to be rendered unfit for human consumption, or to fail to retrieve game birds from the field. “Edible portions” of game birds means, at a minimum, the meat of the breast associated with the sternum. The duty to retrieve and to not waste does not justify otherwise criminal conduct including but not limited to trespass.

Possession and Transport

Possession limit means the maximum number of birds that a person may lawfully possess (includes fresh, frozen, or otherwise processed) in the field or in transit to place of permanent residence (see Game Bird Seasons for possession limits). Game birds shipped or given to another person for transport during the season or within 48 hours after the season closes must be accompanied by a written note listing the number and kinds; date killed; name and address of possessor; and signature, address and hunting license number of the hunter. Birds transported more than 48 hours after the season closes must bear a shipping permit or metal seal from ODFW. Shipping permits or metal seals are available at any ODFW regional or district office and any Oregon State Police office.

Field Possession Limit: No person may possess, have in custody, or transport more than the daily bag limit or aggregate daily bag limit, whichever applies, of migratory game birds, tagged or not tagged, at or between the place where taken and either (a) automobile or principal means of land transportation; or (b) personal abode or temporary or transient place of lodging; (c) migratory bird preservation facility; (d) Post Office; or (e) common carrier facility.

Hunting Prohibited

It is unlawful to:

• Hunt on any refuge closed by state or federal government.
• Hunt within corporate limits of any city or town (unless otherwise authorized, see OAR 635-051-0048); public park or cemetery; or on any campus or grounds of a public school, college, or university.
• Hunt or shoot from or across a public Rd, Rd right-of-way or railroad right-of-way, except persons legally hunting on Rds closed to use of motor vehicles by the public.
• Hunt in any safety zones created and posted by ODFW.

Other Restrictions

It is unlawful to:

• Take furbearers, except in compliance with furbearing mammal regulations.
• Disturb or remove the traps or snares of any licensed trapper while that person is trapping on public lands or on other land by landowner’s permission.
• Use an artificial light for hunting any wildlife, except raccoon, bobcat and opossum provided the light is not cast from or attached to a motor vehicle. This includes laser sights or any other sights which project a beam to the target, including scopes with electronic rangefinders and scopes that receive information from a rangefinder or any electronic device. This does not include battery operated sights which only light the reticle.
• Sell, trade, barter, exchange, or offer for sale, trade, barter, or exchange any game bird parts, or game bird feathers thereof EXCEPT as identified in OAR 635, Division 200.
• Disturb, damage, remove, alter, or possess any official ODFW sign.
• Knowingly provide false information to the Department or Commission on any report required by law.
• Counsel, aid, or assist in any violation of the wildlife laws, or share in any of the proceeds of such violation by receiving or possessing any wildlife. Any person who violates this rule shall incur the penalties provided for the person guilty of such violation.
• Release without a permit any wildlife brought from another state or country, or raised in captivity in this state.
• Refuse inspection of any license, tag, or permit, and any wildlife taken, by an employee of ODFW, any person authorized to enforce wildlife laws, or a landowner or agent of the landowner on their land.
• Refuse inspection of any gear used for the purpose of taking wildlife by an employee of the ODFW, or any person authorized to enforce wildlife laws.

Columbia and Snake River Boundary

• To hunt the Oregon portion of the Columbia Rvr, including that portion of the Lewis and Clark NWR and other islands in Oregon in the Columbia Rvr, hunters must possess a valid Oregon Resident or Oregon Nonresident Hunting License.
• To view a map of the boundary between Oregon and Washington in the Columbia Rvr visit, www.oregonhuntingmap.com.
• Any hunter with a valid Oregon or Idaho hunting license may hunt in the waters or on the islands of the Snake Rvr, where the Rvr forms the boundary between the two states. All laws and rules of the respective states apply.

Field Dressing of Game Birds — What’s Legal?

Hunters understand the importance to care for meat while in the field to protect it from spoiling. However, what is not understood by many is the legal requirements necessary to transport dressed birds from the field. Some hunters commonly practice “breasting” birds out and discarding the rest of the carcass before getting home. This is not legal and hunters need to note the following:

The head or one fully feathered wing must be left attached to all game birds in the field or while in transit to the place of permanent residence of the processor. Further restrictions apply to the Northwest Oregon Permit Goose Zone, see Northwest Permit Goose Zone.

So why is this necessary? There are many restrictions on sex and species of birds that can be included in your daily bag. Leaving a head or wing attached allows law enforcement personnel to identify the birds taken by a hunter. You can be cited if it is not possible to determine the types of birds in your possession.

The edible portion of a game bird means, at a minimum the meat of the breast associated with the sternum. However, the Department encourages hunters to consume meat from the leg (drumstick), thigh, and wing when practicable. Many hunters don’t realize how much meat is lost when just the breast is consumed. On most game birds, 25% to 35% of the meat is found on just the legs and thighs, with only 55% to 60% found on the breast.

General Hunting Regulations of this booklet outlines the important regulation for hunting game birds in Oregon. Please familiarize yourself with all these regulations.

Upland Game Bird Emergency Closure Procedures

• ODFW has procedures in place to allow early closure of game bird seasons during unusually severe winter weather.
• Upland game birds can concentrate in high numbers when snow is deep and often near roads, leaving them vulnerable to unethical hunters.
• Disturbance to big game in extended severe weather by upland hunters is also a concern.
• ODFW recognizes that emergency closures can affect the plans of hunters and businesses that rely on upland game birds seasons. Therefore, emergency closures will only take effect on either the 15th or the last day of the month.
• Example 1: if winter conditions do not warrant the closure of chukar season on Dec. 31st, the season will extend at least through Jan. 14th.
• Example 2: if winter conditions do not warrant the closure of chukar season on January 15th, hunters know the season will extend through Jan. 31st.
• Closures will be by Co and publicized as widely as possible.
• Hunters can check the ODFW information line for emergency closures: 503-947-6002 or 1-800-720-6339.

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