Falcons Fighting Berry Crime

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Birds chasing other birds is a natural part of the avian world. But when you add a skilled falconer, that pursuit can protect a farmer's crops.

Once the sport of kings, falconry has taken on a practical side, most notably to disperse pest birds from airports to prevent bird/aircraft strikes. The best-suited birds of prey are Peregrine Falcons, Northern Goshawks, and Aplomado Falcons.

A blueberry farmer in Burlington, Washington, has hired a licensed falconer to keep birds, mainly starlings, from feeding on his crops. Pee Wee, a Barbary Falcon, along with his dozen cohorts, can save the farmer three to four tons of blueberries every day. Using his ability to stoop at up to 100 miles per hour, Pee Wee dive-bombs clusters of starlings, scaring them away from the newly ripening blueberries. After about 20 minutes of work, Pee Wee is whistled back to his trainer.

Falcons are also keeping pest birds in check at vineyards, amusement parks, landfills, and even in city centers. Often the falcons are trained, but in some cities wild falcons have taken up residence to feed on the overabundance of starlings and pigeons. Both trained and wild, falcons are adding a new chapter to the long story of birds helping people.

The bird calls you hear on BirdNote come from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. To hear this show again, visit the website, BirdNote.org.

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. European Starlings and Cooper's Hawk recorded by G.A. Keller. American Robin recorded by R.S. Little.
Aplomado Falcon recorded by Alvaro Riccetto, courtesy of Xeno-Canto.
Writer: Frances Wood
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2014 Tune In to Nature.org     November 2014   Narrator: Mary McCann