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Burbank, Washington: Diving and soaring over a blueberry patch in the US state of Washington, the aplomado falcon chased pesky starlings and sparrows to prevent them from feasting on the ripe fruit.
Farmer Jim Lott smiled as he watched the bird work.
Lott is one of 17 farmers nationwide who signed up for a programme, approved by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, that allows the use of predator birds to control pest birds that damage or forage on crops.
Wildlife officials say three farmers have signed up in Texas, where pest birds feast on piles of grain at dairy farms and feedlots and ruin the feed by defecating on it. Already, seven farmers, including Lott, have signed on in the Pacific Northwest, where starlings infuriate fruit growers with their gluttonous ways.
"We never expected a whole lot of people to get them, but it did make sense to allow the use of raptors to control problem flocks of birds, agricultural pests, because in many ways, that's probably more environmentally sound than other methods people might use," said George Allen, Fish and Wildlife's branch chief of permits and regulations in Arlington, Virginia. "I expect the kinds of uses will expand in the future, but it's still early in the game," he said.
Farmers have long battled birds and wildlife that damage or forage on their crops, causing an estimated $944 million (Dh3.4 billion) in damage in one year, according to a 2007 report by the US Department of Agriculture. New federal regulations allow indigenous birds, largely protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to be used for bird abatement.
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