Our March 3 Meeting Is Going to the Birds In a New Farming Way
Attendees are going to face more than they bargained for when they walk in under the watchful eyes of Strega, Beebe, and Lanier. These three avian attendees don't miss a trick? They see 10 times better than you. Falcons can see a morsel of meat the size of a pencil eraser from a mile away.
The three working birds are trained falcons, escorted by falconers Jim Tigan and Marten Benatar of Tactical Avian Predators. The birds hope to “launch a career” patrolling Whatcom blueberry fields by scaring away starlings who are trying to dine on lush, ripening berries. “The falcons are non-destructive,” says Benatar. “They are trained to chase starlings out of the area....Strega is a Lanner falcon, from the Mediterranean and Africa, Rozlyn is a Saker falcon from Pakistan, and Beebe shares both heritages.”
This sharp-eyed crew is part of a March 3rd lineup designed to introduce local farmers to some successful, quiet bird control methods. Many farmers as well as rural residents are seeking alternatives to the painfully noisy propane air cannons commonly used to scare birds from blueberry crops during the high part of summer, and this meeting presents other options to protect blueberry crops from scurrilous starlings and other flighty pests.
Farmers and the public are invited to come see these feathered guests, their humans, and sample helikites and jackites on Monday, March 3, from 7:00-8:30 pm at the Lynden Library.
Our all-star guest line-up includes Matt Cleland from the USDA presenting the local starling trapping program; Henry Bierlink with Farm Friends; Colleen Burrows from WSU County Extension with the in-progress IPM blueberry manual; and Katherine Hartline will bring kestrel nesting boxes – when these native birds set up shop, local pests flock to other locations. And, a Lynden blueberry grower and his neighbor will share their successful bird control experiments with helikites and jackites.
Refreshments include a treat -- Lisa's Gonna-Be-Famous Homegrown-Blueberry Buckle.
Creative Scarecrows is hosting this “Farmer to Farmer” meeting as a positive step toward developing win/win bird control solutions – so farmers do not lose their crops to birds, and farm neighbors can enjoy the summer, too. Creative Scarecrows is a Whatcom County group formed in 2007 to find practical and effective solutions to reduce bird predation.
Contact us at noaircannons@comcast.net.
