clipping decoy's wings

Hi everyone, I just thought of something that may be of importance to some of you who use traps that require decoy birds. Unfortunately, another fellow sparrow trapper in my area had some animal knock over her repeater trap and the decoy birds were gone the next morning....meaning trap-shy birds. Cats, raccoons, oppossums and even severe wind can easily knock over or flip these traps, so if it does happen, the HOSP can't get free if their wings are clipped. You may even find them nearby in a bush being that they can't go very far. Also, this does not hurt the HOSP at all, It's like a haircut to us. I always clip my decoy's wings, so that if they do get out for whatever reason, I know that they will either die, I can find them easily or that I know their won't be any trap-shy birds around.
Thats all!
Bret

Great advice Bret. Anything that you can do to eliminate the chance of trap shy birds is a good thing, especially because one trap shy bird can mean the whole colony may become trap shy-as I've learned the hard way.