Muskoka residents dropping garbage off at Rosewarne Landfill should keep their eyes on the sky. They may catch a glimpse of the district’s new bird-abatement program.
The District of Muskoka recently signed a six-month contract with Royal Canadian Falconry to use birds of prey to keep nuisance species, such as seagulls and pigeons, out of Rosewarne Landfill in Bracebridge, Ont.
“We have a team of raptors that we fly to act as a deterrent against the gulls. It’s a natural predator-prey instinct. So, the gulls recognize our birds as a threat,” says Amy MacAlpine, the owner of Royal Canadian Falconry.
Headquartered in Haliburton, Royal Canadian Falconry offers falconry experiences and workshops to the public. But one of its main revenue sources is its bird-abatement program, which the company offers to venues across Ontario. The company specializes in agriculture and landfill sites, but MacAlpine says she’s used falconry-based bird abatement at a variety of venues. When she was first learning falconry under a different company, she performed bird-abatement services during concerts at Budweiser Stage in Toronto.
Falconry-based bird control is thousands of years old and has been used as a deterrent to nuisance species in the U.K. for hundreds of years. But in Ontario, it’s only been legal since 1984.
“It’s a very eco friendly form of pest control, and actually is very humane,” says MacAlpine.
Instead of using pesticides or noise makers, birds of prey haze, harass, and chase nuisance species out of human environments. MacAlpine adds that Royal Canadian Falconry only chases away nuisance species if they’re damaging property or causing danger, not because they’re annoying.
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Nuisance species can be problematic for several reasons. They often carry zoonotic diseases contagious to humans; their feces is acidic and corrosive, damaging property; they’ve been known to chase and harass people who get too close to their nests; and they carry pieces of landfill to other sites.
“The number one thing I find on city rooftops is chicken wing bones,” says MacAlpine. “I’ve seen hundreds of thousands of chicken wing bones on rooftops in the city.”
MacAlpine and her team use different birds of prey depending on the site location, the time of year, and the nuisance species. For instance, an aplomado falcon is good at dealing with species such as starlings, grackles, and pigeons. Whereas a Harris’s hawk is better equipped to deal with crows, gulls, and even geese. And some birds of prey are better adapted to winter temperatures versus summer.
“I can potentially rotate through two different teams of birds based on the season,” says MacAlpine.
To chase off nuisance species, the birds of prey will fly around and scare them. If this doesn’t work, MacAlpine says she’ll bring in the heavy hitters, birds she refers to as the “enforcers.” These birds will kill a member of the nuisance species to show the other birds that they’re a serious threat.
“Those wild birds know the difference between a predator in the area flying around and a predator actually going for the kill,” says MacAlpine.
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She specifies that Royal Canadian Falconry only kills a handful of nuisance birds each year and will only do it if necessary. Since some of the nuisance species, such as seagulls, are protected under Canada’s Migratory Birds Convention Act, the company operates with a federally issued permit granting permission to kill them.
In some situations, falconry-based bird abatement can drive away a nuisance species for good. But that won’t be the case in Muskoka. The landfill acts as a food source, meaning nuisance species will continue to return.
The Royal Canadian Falconry team is visiting the Rosewarne Landfill site five to six days per week during opening hours. The company charges between $65 to $250-plus per hour for its abatement service, depending on the site location, how many birds of prey are needed, and the difficulty of the job.
Muskoka has budgeted approximately $80,000 for the service, which includes bird abatement at the landfill site as well as Rosewarne Transfer Station and the Beiers Transfer Station, both compost centres.
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