RESEARCHRESEARCH COMPLETED IN PROCESS Strategy to DeterNuisanceBirds inLeafy Green Fields FalconryEvaluation of asanEconomically Viable Co-Management observers alsorecordedifthebirdswereseeninfl ocks orindividually. the fi eld wererecordedusingstandardizedUSGS4-digitalphaforbirdspecies.The number ofbirdsfl ying overtransects,orontheground,plantssprinklerheadsin irrigation andpresenceofworkersequipmentinthestudyblock.Species also recordedthedateandlocation,crop,weatherparameters(wind,temperature), at sunrisebywalkingeachtransect10-minuteintervalsover3hours.Observers 100-m transectssetupontheroadsaroundblocks.Birdcountswerestarted buildings, andotherraptors.UCDavisfi eld crewsconductedbirdcountsbywalking Requirements forsafefalconryincludeddistancefrommajorroads/highways, and controlblocksbasedonsimilarproductionpracticesfarmlandscape. confi dentially inthestudyanddividedintotwotofour(20-40acre)treatment Commercial ranchesgrowingleafygreensinMontereyCountywereenrolled METHODS contamination ofleafygreens. for implementationofcommercialfalconrytoreducetheriskmicrobial human pathogen-drivencroplosses,and2)builddata-drivensupportcapacity in theleafygreensfarmscapewithaknownhistoryofbirdintrusionsand specific objectiveswereto1)characterizekeybirdbehaviorandattractants treatment usingfalconry,andwhetherreductionspersistedafterfalconry.The number ofbirdsdecreasedinleafygreensblocksduringbirdabatement The overallgoalwastoevaluatenuisancebirdattractants,andwhetherthe OBJECTIVES cost effectivenessofthisapproach. lethal birdabatementapproaches(e.g.,audio/visualdeterrents)tomaximizethe needed todeterminetheeffectofusingfalconryincombinationwithothernon- (abatement) inproducefields inthecentralcoast.Additionalon-farmstudiesare abundance, withfallbeingthemosteffectivetimetousefalconryforbirdcontrol numbers ofnuisancebirdsarepresent.Seasonplaysanimportantroleinbird intrusions andassociatedfecalcontaminationinleafygreenfields whenlarge proof-of-concept studysuggestthatfalconryisaviableapproachtoreducebird falconry, andwhetherreductionspersistedafterfalconry.Findingsfromthis birds decreasedinleafygreensblocksduringbirdabatementtreatmentusing The goalwastoevaluatenuisancebirdattractants,andwhetherthenumberof trials wereperformedinspringandfall2015MontereyCounty,California. To testtheefficacy offalconrytodeterpestbirdsinleafygreensfi elds, several SUMMARY in treatment(falconry)andcontrolfields, MontereyCounty,2015. Table 1.Diversityofbirdspeciesidentified duringspringandfalltrials sparrow TOTAL warbler Yellow White meadowlark Western Turkey unidentified Sparrow, Say’s phoebe - Red starlings blackbirds and Other: mixed mockingbird Northern Northern flicker Mourning dove Mallard Killdeer sparrowHouse finchHouse Horned lark European starling raven Common California towhee cowbird Brown Black phoebe unspecified Blackbird, winged Blackbird, red Brewer’s Blackbird, Barn swallow American robin American kestrel American crow Species control fields, Monterey 2015. County, in treatment (falconry) and trials fall and spring during identified species bird of Diversity 1. Table tailed hawk - - crowned - headed
rump
-
1294 0 0 3 16 0 0 1 0 4 0 32 6 0 0 15 0 14 0 0 0 0 350 134 429 86 2 0 202 days) Spring (9
AUTHORS CONTACT 5088 0 1 23 5 37 11 0 1101 10 0 29 0 82 72 8 181 552 1 2 5 7 677 257 1956 25 0 1 45 days) Fall #1(10
452 101 5047 0 27 0 148 (12 days) Fall #2 9481 5 8 126 0 288 26 2 657 0 1 4 0 8 0 5 8 2562 0 0 0 6
Nora Navarro-Gonzalez, TrevorSuslow [email protected] (530) 219-4628 Western CenterforFoodSafety Program Manager/ResearchMicrobiologist University ofCalifornia,Davis Michele Jay-Russell
178 0 2484 0 0 1 55 (9 days) Fall #3 7469 0 3 436 2 172 13 0 283 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 3815 21 0 0 2
23332 5 12 588 23 497 50 3 2041 14 1 65 6 91 72 31 189 6943 22 2 5 15 1657 492 9916 111 29 2 450 TOTAL
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LENGTH OFFUNDING number ofbirdsseenintotal(flyovers plusgroundforaging). the ground(foraging)wasabetterindicatoroffecalcontaminationthan blocks comparedwithcontrols.Wealsofoundthatthenumberofbirdsseenon between reductionofbirdsintreatmentblocksandreducedbirdfecesthese throughout thestudy,butwedetectedastatisticallysignificant correlation of plantsvisiblycontaminatedwithbirdfeceswaslow(rangefrom0to1.9%) numbers over5daysoftreatmentandfor3post-treatment.Thepercentage adjacent vineyard.InOctoberandNovember,falconryeffectivelyreducedbird in Septemberwasconfoundedbyinterferencewithafalconerworkingatan in thespring.Birdpopulationsweremuchhigherfall,butfirst trial of birdsinbothtreatmentandcontrolblocks.Thepresencewaslow Overall, wefoundahighvariabilityinthepresence,abundance,anddiversity falconry andaudio/visualdeterrents). (for example,theeffectivenessofcombinationsnon-lethalbirdcontrolsuchas findings willinformfuture,morecomprehensivebirdcontrolresearchprojects to decreasebirdintrusionsintofields whenfl ocking birdsaremostabundant.The pest birdsperformedbyneighboringranchesandconsideringtheuseoffalconry recommendations forgrowersincludedtakingintoaccountthemanagementof of microbialcontaminationleafygreensduetobirdintrusions.Specifically, as anon-lethal,effective,affordable,andsustainableapproachtoreducetherisk science-based datafortheleafygreenindustrytoevaluatecommercialfalconry This projectwasconductedasaproof-of-conceptstudytosystematicallygather BENEFITS TOINDUSTRY THE RESULTS TODATE treatment lastedfromDay4to8. Number ofbirdsseenonthegroundinTreatmentlettucefield (Falltrial#2).Falconry January 1,2015–December 31,2015 their fields forthestudy. participants whogenerously allowedusaccessto assistance. Lastly,weareindebtedtotheindustry Wheeler, andSaraKrossfortheirtechnical are alsogratefultoGeriKavanagh-Baird,Jessica Predators forprovidingfalconryservices.We We thankKathleenTiganwithTacticalAvian