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Photo by Ronda Payne
Raptors Ridge Birds of Prey
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Photo by Ronda Payne
Antoni Padszywalow
Antoni Padszywalow of Sky Guard Falconry.
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Photo By Ronda Payne
Karen Kamstra
Karen Kamstra of Raptors Ridge.
The screech of a barn owl, a hawk screaming, and the Kestrel’s call: all are, or should be, welcome sounds to growers. It’s an ancient relationship of predator and prey. While some raptors are great at rodent control, others are ideally designed for bird control yet all are environmentally-friendly.
Growers who recognize the value of these birds to their operations will encourage their desired habitat and avoid the rodenticides that can harm or kill them through secondary ingestion. And, if there aren’t enough raptors visiting the property, perhaps it’s time to call in the experts for some trained help with pest control.
Antoni Padszywalow of Sky Guard Falconry gave blueberry growers a demonstration of how falcons deter starlings at a late spring blueberry growers’ event in Agassiz. He is one of about 20 falconers around the province who provide services to farmers and growers to prevent crop loss due to starlings.
“They don’t kill starlings,” he says. “But the starlings don’t know that.”
Fellow falconer, Karen Kamstra and her husband Kim own Raptor’s Ridge, a Maple Ridge-based raptor facility which also offers help to farmers. She’d like to see farmers attract raptors to their lands naturally before calling for help.
“We go out and assess the situation,” notes Kamstra. “We actually try to encourage the farmers to use what Mother Nature has provided them.”
In their on-site visits, the Kamstras have often found that crop and berry fields, even some orchards, don’t have anywhere for the birds to perch and “watch their toes”, which is how Karen describes the constant observation for movement by birds of prey. A simple pole in the middle of a field will open up new territory for raptors to hunt from.
If a pole smack-dab in the middle of the field doesn’t seem ideal for machinery, she has a solution for that too.
“We try to encourage farms to use a bucket in a bucket system,” she says.
It’s exactly what it sounds like; plus a few other materials. Take a five-gallon pail and plant it in the middle of the field so that the lip of the bucket is at grade. Pour wet cement into a second five-gallon pail and insert the bottom of a post (up to 30 feet high). Let the concrete dry, drop the second bucket into the first bucket and a perch is instantly available to raptors.
“A perch in the middle of nowhere is going to attract a bird,” Kamstra says. “That’s a whole new area of their territory to explore.”
When machinery is needed in the field, simply pull the second bucket back out of the first to make for unimpeded movement.
If growers find having a perch still isn’t doing the job, falconers can be called in to help.
“We work seven days a week,” says Padszywalow. “From sunrise to sunset usually. Some farms have no starlings anymore and that’s why we’re losing contracts… after a few years of work.”
Kamstra says it is possible to see starling populations move on but that it shouldn’t necessarily be the end goal. The point is to preserve the crop and consider using birds of prey as an alternative to noise tactics or poison.
“We’re not looking to kill, we’re looking to make them uncomfortable and move on,” she says of their work combatting starlings and other pests. “A lot depends on what we’re trying to get rid of. Starlings are very stubborn and they’re also very smart.”
She describes starling abatement as ongoing maintenance, an expense like a piece of equipment, and encourages farmers and growers to take the steps to break up the starlings’ routines and make them uncomfortable enough to leave the area. In this way, crop rotation can be successful as can changing the layout of the field and other tactics that scare the birds away.
“The noise-makers, what-have-you, they don’t work,” Kamstra notes. “The starlings get used to them.”
Rodent populations and other types of birds can be targeted as well according to Padszywalow.
“We can train the birds to work on anything, crows, starlings, seagulls, etc.,” he says. “It scares the group away.”
Photo By Ronda Payne
Raptors
The raptors work hungry. They get fed a portion of their meal in the morning so they have energy, but are still looking for food. They fly the fields all day scaring off the starlings or other pests then eat again in the evening when they retire for the night, rest up and get ready to go at it again in the morning. Their handlers follow the same strenuous schedule.
Some growers have illegally taken on training and flying the birds to avoid the expense and challenges of having a team on the land sunup to sundown. While Kamstra supports growers taking on their own pest control she advises licensing is mandatory through the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource operations.
“It’s not a nice job, but it’s a job that needs to be done,” she says. “We’re protecting the food we eat. I would like to see the farmers trying to do it themselves without poison.”
Before growers go out and try to buy a falcon and undergo training, the first step is to install a place for them to hunt from (like the pole) and encourage nest boxes for Kestrels and barn owls. Encouraging the natural desire of raptors to spend time on the property will always help to keep pests away from crops.
A bird of prey like a barn owl can eat more than 1,000 rodents each year when paired and nesting.
Poisons certainly seem like the quick and obvious fix, but the damage they do reverses the natural cycle of the predatory birds. When a rodent ingests the poison, they become slower, disoriented and easier prey for raptors. The raptor then eats the rodent and absorbs the rodenticide with it or may pass it along to its young during nesting season.
Studies on how secondary poison can impact raptors are ongoing through the work of people like wildlife biologist Sofi Hindmarch. She has been studying owl populations in the Lower Mainland since 2007 and can help growers arrange for nesting boxes and even their installation. Another owl researcher and veterinarian is Dick Clegg who has been tracking numbers in Chilliwack and the surrounding area for about 20 years.
The research isn’t yet conclusive in terms of how much rodenticide it takes to harm a raptor or disorient it, but it is certain that the poisons cause damage. It is believed that poison may impact raptors’ ability to hunt, fly or see properly.
Take time to appreciate the screeches, hoots, screams and other raptor sounds around orchards and farms. Giving the Kestrels, falcons, owls and other raptors a reason to stay on the land will help control rodents, starlings and other pests naturally. ■
For more information on Raptors visit www.raptorsridge.com
