The Ojibway Bird Snare: A History of a major food source for the Ojibway People, and how to make one.

I have seen videos covering every imaginable primitive trap. From bow traps to simple peg-deadfall triggers. Some of these traps are ingenious and function beautifully in the Canadian woods, like snares and Sampson posts. Whereas others do not function as well, like a deadfall or spear trap.

Sadly many people do not study and research primitive traps, and simply regurgitate what was taught to them from a book or basic survival course. Usually from people who are also regurgitating the information. This makes it almost Dogmatic Law, which you don't want to argue; like deadfalls in Canada (out of ten years, I have had two deadfalls succeed at what about 100 snares have done just as well). That being said, some people don't look into the history of the traps. One perfect example is the Ojibway Bird Snare.

Maybe it's my Anishnaabe (Ojibway) blood, or maybe it's just my interest in primitive trapping, but I have become a little obsessed with this trap over the years. Using weighted snare (or a snare attached to a spring pole), the trap catches a bird alive, holding them firmly against a pole for you to retrieve. The set up is very simple, yet takes some detailed wood working to do.

The four pieces to this trap are;

-a pole with a hole bored into it. This hole must be smooth enough for a snare cord to go through without resistance. Kochanski's method of “cutting” a hole into wood rather than “drilling” is best. The very top of the pole should be pointed, to prevent birds landing there rather than on the trigger.

-A trigger stick. Long enough to afford a perch to a landing bird. It plugs the hole, keeping the snare from sliding shut until triggered. Upon weight being applied to the trigger, it releases, allowing the weight to pull the snare shut.

-A snare. This must be a cord. Snare wire is often too rigid to function properly, and often I have seen the wire snap in mid-action. Inner strands of parachute cord works very well. My favorite natural cordage for this trap is Dogbane. However any strong, flexible cord will do the job. In the photos, I am using Basswood (Tilia) bark twine.

-A weight mechanism. This can be a bent sapling, or better yet, a rock tied directly to the snare via a Killick Hitch. This -when triggered- will yank the snare shut around the feet of the perching bird. The rock method is superior, because it can't freeze into position as easily as a bent sapling. This means in cold weather, the rock-weighted Ojibway Bird Snare can be often used with more effectiveness.

This is requires quite a lot of carving, and experimentation to get just right. However once set up, the system is easy to maintain, and requires little to no actual adjustments.

Put together, the trap looks like this;

And a closeup of the trigger system with the snare;



Note the sharpened tip to the pole, to prevent landing on top.

I like to add a snare toggle to my snare cords, this can be seen better in this photo;

The snare toggle helps prevent the cord from flying out of the trap when triggered. This means the bird won't as likely have its' legs broken when captured. More humane, the more I like the trap. As well, it also strengthens the cord, and if a simple overhand knot is used on the loose end of the cord, the snare toggle makes it simple to make a snare without needing a bowline, or other fancy knots. This means in cold weather I can easily set these up.

The basic trap set up is fairly simple, however it does take some practice to set the trigger into the post snuggly enough to secure the snare cord in place. Often the rock weight wants to tug it shut even when the trigger is set properly. Some try to remedy this by adding a knot to the cord, to stop the sliding. Do not do this. This often causes the trap to not work right at all, often jamming up when triggered. Simply make the tapered end of the trigger stick as snug as possible, and push it in tightly. That's all you can do to make sure this trap works right.

Good baits for such a trap are;

-Berries

-Grains

-Breadstuffs

-Suet

-Birch buds (late winter)

-Tamarack needles (winter)

Now, let us watch this in action. My younger cousin offered to use his fingers as pigeon legs for our demonstration;

The trap is set;

The bird lands, its' weight causing the trigger stick to dislodge from the post;

The trap is sprung, and the legs of the bird are now firmly stuck against the post;

Sound simple right? Well it is. Now scatter bird feed like berries, grains and even suet around the ground below the trap, and set it in a sunny location.

Now, what is this trap made to catch? Obviously it goes for perching birds, and not ground birds. I doubt a grouse would get captured by this, unless I spooked the bird up onto the trap, as they are more often found on the ground, and usually only go up into the trees when roosting, or startled.

So it is meant for a perching bird. Well what kind of perching birds? Would the Ojibway really go through all of this trouble for a couple of grosbeaks and chickadees? Maybe a whiskeyjack, but some Ojibway considered that bird too sacred to kill (being the representation of Nanabush in certain stories. Plus the fact that the bird is a friendly visitor that could possibly lead winter starved people to a wolf kill).

Perhaps a little history lesson will help explain this trap and it's reason for existing...

The Anishnaube people (Ojibwa, Ojibwe, Ojibway, Chippewa, etc) lived from Minnesota, up into Ontario Canada for hundreds of years. During the early to mid 1700s, the native population of Southern Ontario (pre-Ojibway occupation) was mostly wiped out from devastating diseases like Small Pox and Tuberculosis. Those that survived, fled south and north, leaving the entire area alone for about 50 years or more. During this time a certain bird had a population boom happen, due to the lack of human predation on them and because of lack of competition for food (wild berries and grains). This bird was the one pictured below;



This is known as the Passenger Pigeon. Whose numbers rivaled that of the buffalo to the west. A single flock of them could be up to two billion birds. Because of their numbers, the Ojibway, who now entered a forest completely empty of people, had a simple and easy means of food with no competition.
The Passenger Pigeon would perch before landing on the ground to feed, much like rock pigeons and mourning doves do. This would allow the Ojibway an easy trapping of food to supply the people. This trap evolved specifically to harvest Passenger Pigeons, who were large birds (bigger than the rock pigeon we are all used to) and in greater numbers than any other food resource. There is a town near the Otonabee River called Omemee, translated to "Pigeon". In the Kawartha Lakes (North of the Otonabee River) is a lake called Pigeon Lake. Anybody else noticing a trend here?

However, upon the destruction of the Passenger Pigeon's population, this trap become next to obsolete and useless. Yes, it can occasionally trap a perched bird, but not as easily as it once had. Trap methods like the Arapuca Bird Trap, and the Grouse Snare have surpassed this ancient snare. However, in areas where pigeons and doves are in high population, this trap can still be used quite effectively.