Birdmen of Chaparral park

Our latest favorite fishing hole is Chaparral park in Scottsdale. Chaparral has a 10 acre "lake", The Arizona Game and Fish Department stocks it with trout in the winter and catfish in the summer. On most occasions we catch some good sized trout or catfish.

But on occasion..... We catch nothing and get bored, and by we I mean mostly Chris. So last year Chris started catching birds... He started with pigeons:
And then went after bigger game:
Other than acting indignant the goose did not put up much of a fight.
He used to use a net and corn as bait, but we have since learned that if they are hungry enough the pigeons will land on your hands and eat.

The pigeons appear to do something interesting, at least one of them will land on your hand and rip off big chunks of bread and throw it to the ones gathering below. mostly it is a free for all with them landing on top of each other and jostling for position.

At one point, one pigeon chased another one up my arm to make him go away. Once in your hands or on the ground in front of you they can be caught rather easily. Oh and spare me your comments on how pigeons are sky rats, or are filthy, and disease ridden. They are no cleaner or dirtier than any other wild bird on the planet.

I find it quite humorous when people bring their kids to this park to feed the birds, as soon as bread is thrown on the ground every pigeon in the park shows up and swarms the poor kid, scaring the crap out of them (the kid not the birds).