Falconry

Using falconry bird controlling as a natural deterrent has become a recommended form of controlling Bird infestations throughout our living and working environments. All wild species of bird have a strong will to survive as their life cycle depends on being able to feed every day and stay away from danger. In addition to this, every wild bird is competing against each other to find the best food supply, safe breeding ground and protection from the hard elements of Nature. It is because of this will to survive that wild birds can become a problem.

Article & Video : Hawks used to tackle gull menace (BBC News)

Basic Instinct

The reason that a bird of prey makes an effective bird scarer or seagull scarer is that it is a natural predator and no matter which continent of the world the bird of prey comes from, it is easily identified by the pest species as a predator. Unlike all other species of bird, a bird of prey in flight has a silhouette that appears to have no neck; the stream line aerodynamic profile of a bird of prey in flight is instinctively imprinted into young wild birds before they hatch from the egg. This is a survival reflex which nature has created to help every species succeed in its life cycle.

Falconry To Date

To date Falconry is no longer practiced in the same manner that it was 3000 years ago. The nature of this avian science has given us the understanding that we can select certain species of bird of prey for our falconry services to work specific environments and to do set tasks depending on their physical build and mentality.

The Birds We Use

The birds of prey we use for falconry bird control are trained in a specialist format to ensure that they can be deployed and their flights controlled. These are not Birds of Prey from a Falconry centre that display to the public or are used in a countryside environment to hunt game. They are species selected especially for use in falconry services to deal with working un-natural environments with distractions and dangers that they would not usually encounter. Once trained, a bird of prey can patrol the skies above and around the treatment area making it very hard for the pest species to hide.

How Does Falconry Bird Control Work

In order to deploy an effective falconry services programme with a specially trained bird of prey, effort is made to disturb the every day habits of the pest species. This usually includes affecting the area where the wild birds roost and the places they feed. By increasing the risk factor for the wild bird species it creates confusion and panic to the treatment area where the pest species would usually not have concern. In some situations this panic can be enough to encourage the pest species to find new safer feeding grounds and roosting while in other situations when wild birds of prey are already present in the environment more effective approach is required. There are many different falconry bird control techniques we can use to deploy and maintain a flight with a bird of prey to make a high profile deterrent.

Control Bird

In the first instance we start by using a Control Bird. This is a bird of prey that will chase the pest species indicating that the bird of prey wants to feed. However the Control Bird is trained to chase and not kill so its presence can be seen by the pest species day in and day out. Effectively it is used soley as a bird scarer or seagull scarer.

Pursuit Bird

Once the Control Bird has been flown and the pest species has returned to the site the 2nd stage of our falconry services will usually involve deploying a Pursuit Bird that will focus on one particular bird of the flock, strike it and kill it creating a fatality. This then creates a fatal profile which will be watched and remembered by all of the other pest species of bird in the flock. From this point on every time either bird is flown the associations to the fatal dangers are recognised by the pest species and the treatment area will soon be free from infestation.

Slow Birds

Slow Birds are Hawk species that are trained to fly inside buildings to deter wild birds from nesting and roosting. Hawks generally do not have the same stamina as a falcon and do not fly as fast or with as much power. A Slow Bird will work from perch to fist making short flights and creating a high profile presence. Slow Birds are used in our falconry bird control services often when the environment isnt safe for fast flying falcons.

In addition to using the birds of prey it is common for the falconer to deploy other manual methods of deterrent. The more associations that can be made with the fatality the easier it becomes to gain total control of the treatment area. Such manual methods that can be used in conjunction with birds of prey are:

• SPECIALIST KITES
• BLANK FIRING DEVICES
• BIRD SCARER ROCKETS
• DIGITAL DISTRESS CALLS

For bird scarer, seagull scarer and Falconry services to be effective it has to be established over a period of time. As the associations to the fatalities are made with the birds of prey the pest species of bird will return when the bird of prey can not be seen therefore flying a bird of prey just once in a treatment area will only deter the pest species for a temporary period of time.

Bird Of Prey Risk Assessment

Before a bird of prey can be deployed on your site a site survey will need to take place to assess the dangers that a bird of prey might encounter while deploying our falconry services program. The risk assessment is an essential part of being able to operate to ensure the correct ethics are portrayed when working with live animals.

Ethical Review Process

Our Ethical Review Policy is in place so that all our falconry bird control practices using live stock are monitored and reviewed on a regular basis. This is to ensure we are upholding the highest quality ethics possible for the practices that we use our birds of prey for. This process acts as a guarantee to the welfare of our working stock and also offers answers to most public questions of concern should they arise.