After veraison, as grapes develop their enticing color in the vineyard, the age-old battle between man and nature — in the form of hungry birds — begins. Vintners and farmers have experimented with gas cannons, reflective flash tape, sonic sound systems, drones and netting to scare off their voracious flying opponents. But, the noise of cannons and sonics can irritate neighbors, and drones and netting are labor intensive, making them too expensive to maintain.
Nature often provides the best solution, and in the case of birds raiding vineyards, the natural solution is birds of prey like falcons. Small birds’ instinctive fear of their natural predators causes the flock to shift direction, saving the crop from invasion.
After five decades in the bird abatement business, Falcon Crop Protection has an intimate knowledge of bird behavior and has brought this knowledge to wine country after their marketing manager moved to Healdsburg, launching Falcon Crop Protection to help vineyards reduce grape loss from birds. Their invention ― The Falcon Frightkite™ — creates an amazingly authentic profile and flight pattern based on the peregrine falcon, a bird of prey many viticulturists see hunting over their vineyards.
“We’ve had kites up for six or seven years, and we have so many satisfied customers,” says Justine Davies, Marketing Manager for Falcon Crop Protection. “The kites typically last several growing seasons, and we’re now seeing customers returning to make repeat purchases.”
Dave Crockett of Kenwood vineyard services company Dirt Farmer and Co. and Falcons’ first Frightkite customer says, “I have been using Falcon Frightkites in my Cabernet vineyard and at clients’ vineyards for over ten years. They are the most effective bird deterrents I have found, including lasers and various sounds. Not only are the effects visual, but they result in more than 10% greater yields in most areas.”
The kite is a close replica of a falcon. It is two feet long, and its wingspan is 56 inches, wider than a peregrine falcon’s 39‒43 inch wingspan and slightly smaller than that of a gyrfalcon’s 62 inches. The kite follows the peregrine’s v-shaped wing shape and has “feathers” that flutter like a falcon’s wingtip feathers when hovering to search for prey or using them for balance and flight control. The falcon kite’s head and neck are white, which signals ‘danger’ to birds even at a long distance, so when they catch a glimpse of the falcon shape in the sky, they also register that white danger sign.
“I have been using Falcon Frightkites for over ten years in my Cabernet vineyard. They are the most effective bird deterrents I have found, including lasers and various sounds and they result in more than 10% greater yields in most areas.”
Robert Salomon attests to the Frightkite’s authenticity: “I have been using the Falcon kites in my Viognier vineyard for eight years. I once watched a flock of birds heading directly toward my vineyard, and when they approached the Falcon kite, the flock banked immediately and flew away. The kites have reduced my bird damage problem dramatically. I started with one Falcon kite and have added a second for better coverage. I use them every year.”
The Falcon Frightkite hovers like a falcon because the flight line attaches at two places on the wing to pull it away from the bird. This design creates a smooth arc, and the air can flow through it like a box kite, letting it rise in a very light wind. There is another flap sewn into the Frightkite near the tail and together these two design flaps create the Venturi effect that helps the kite raise and do random aerobatics that birds do not adapt to or recognize as a fake.
The vineyard manager for Napa’s Blankiet Estate relates a unique experience. “A couple of years ago, our Vineyard Manager took some exciting footage,” says Julie Jones, speaking for the estate. “A live falcon came to fight with one of the FrightKite Falcons to protect his territory. It took him a bit to recognize what he was attacking, which speaks well for the kite’s lifelike flying patterns.”
The 100% handmade, handstitched kites use a proprietary fabric with rip-stop fiber to mitigate against tearing if it gets a hole. The spars creating the falcon shape use a high-strength yet incredibly light material — carbon fiber.
Squire Fridell of GlenLyon Vineyards & Winery and Two Amigos Wines in Glen Ellen puts it: “I LOVE these things, and we’d fly them all year ’cause they are so pretty, but they’d wear out even faster.”
Davies, always looking to innovate the Company’s kites, is now at the final stage of field testing a new spinning top with ball bearings to increase maneuverability during wind events.
If you’re a satisfied customer and need an update or a grower who needs to prevent grape loss to birds, reach out to Falcon Crop Protection by email or visit the website: falconcropprotection.com.
