Have you ever watched a peregrine falcon hunt? It flies high over the vineyard watching for its prey — small birds. When it sights a target, it stoops, tucking curved wings under itself to create an airfoil, and dives at over 200 MPH. The power behind the fastest bird in the world is enough to kill or stun the bird it targeted.
Now think of seeing the falcon from a bird’s point of view, one happily feeding on your sweet juicy grapes. Flocking birds like starlings and blackbirds are the most aggressive avian species in inflicting damage on vineyards. They don’t just take one grape here and there. Instead, they peck here, there and everywhere and keep right on going until they ruin whole bunches. And once the grape meat is exposed, the bees come in and exacerbate the problem.
When a flock of birds see a falcon in the air their first reaction is to evade the threat and create distance between the predator and themselves. Similar to an actual falcon, an entire flock will divert their flight path as soon as they see the Falcon Frightkite™ in order to avoid the perceived threat.
Falcon Crop Protection launched The Falcon Frightkite™ to reduce grape loss due to birds in a more effective, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective way than any other solution, including gas cannons, reflective flash tape, sonic sound systems, and netting.
Bird netting, though highly effective, is manpower-intensive, requiring installation and de-installation for harvest. It is also less eco-friendly, trapping many non-target species like hummingbirds, dragonflies, and seed- and bug-eating songbirds. Gas cannons are noisy and disruptive to neighbors, and birds can ultimately adapt to the noise. Flash tape has limited to zero effectiveness, and sonic systems are relatively ineffective in outdoor fields.
With over a 95% success rate at repulsing birds from open vineyards, the Falcon Frightkite™ is easy to install, simple in design and lasts many years. Relying on prevailing winds for a random flight path and requiring only a 2 MPH wind to launch and keep it moving, it’s always visible to pest birds.
“I was sold before I even bought The Falcon Frightkite™,” says customer John Koos in Petaluma. “My neighbors had one for two years, and last year, he harvested 40 tons of grapes without a single bird peck on any of the grapes.”
The Falcon Frightkite™ is genuinely a “BREEZE TO FLY” and is also visitor-friendly. Sustainability is increasingly vital to consumers, and watching the falcon fly while they’re tasting wine adds a unique conversation piece to their visit.
Winery and vineyard managers are recommended to act now as grape vines begin to form clusters, providing the perfect canopy for birds to make their nests within the vineyards themselves.
For more information, testimonials from existing customers and orders, go to www.falconcropprotection.com or call 415-789-5007.
