Cheshire's Starling Invasion Sparks Falcon Patrols

Feb. 28, 2011 - PRLog -- An ominous black and living cloud rises suddenly over the Cheshire Plain before sweeping across the gentle landscape and finally wheeling earth-wards where its occupants settle hungrily on any available perch.

Dairy men and farm workers are immediately put on alert as teams of falconers, each carrying hooded birds of prey, take their positions around the cow sheds – their every move followed by the piercing eyes of this huge flock of Sturmus Vulgaris.

An excerpt from Hichcock’s The Birds? No. A script from a Sci Fi movie? No.

This is a nightmare scene that Cheshire’s farming community are increasingly becoming accustomed to – the curse of the Starlings.

Every Autumn – usually around October - hundreds of thousands of these protected birds invade the county’s airspace attracted by the mega-tons of feed in the cow sheds of Cheshire’s dairy farms. This nutritious and easily gathered food supply will keep them here until they leave in late March.

“The problem is the birds can have a devastating impact on the running of the county’s dairy farms,” explained Steve Birchall, owner of Cheshire Falconry, the company which has created Falcon Patrols to protect the county’s dairy farms from Starling raids.

“Modern day dairy farms are run very efficiently,” he added. “The diet fed to dairy herds are carefully controlled to ensure that the milk produced by the cows is of the exact standard demanded by the retail sector – even down to fat content.

“So when tens of thousands of hungry starlings descend on a dairy farm and start helping themselves to the cow feed the end result can be devastating. They don’t just reduce the amount of feed left for the cows to consume – but their very presence upsets the nutritional balance of the cattle’s diet.

“And if a cow’s diet is affected you can bet the quality of its milk will be affected. And when that happens the big boys of retail sector will refuse to buy and look elsewhere for milk supplies.”

When farmers began to feel costly the effects of the starling invasion they took steps to defend their land – some even bringing back the scare crows of old to try to ward off the feathered freeloaders.

“But whatever they did simply didn’t work,” added Steve. “We began getting calls from farmers who wanted to try to use our falcons to frighten off the starlings – and it seems to work.

“We post our falconers at key points around a farm and when their birds of prey are on patrol the starlings get out of the way double click. When you arrive at a dairy farm at this time of year you simply can’t miss the starlings.
“They perch in the trees, on telephone wires and on fences, anywhere that is in easy striking distance from the cash sheds. But when one of our falcons swoops down out of the sky they soon disperse.

“But when the falcons and falconers are out of sight, they soon return. We’ve got several falcon patrols working at the moment,” added Steve. “By come Spring the starlings will move out and our patrols will stand down – until next Autumn.”

Cheshire dairy farmer Paul Robinson of Woodhey Hall Farm at Faddiley near Nantwich said: “The starling problem is getting worse I’m afraid because farms are getting bigger with more animals and more feed to attract the birds. We also grow Maize these days, which starlings love.

“We have to feed our cows a very similar diet all the year round and it’s a diet that the starlings value too.”

Mike Heler, Managing Director of the Laurels Dairy Farm at Hatherton near Nantwich added: “The starling problem is a nightmare and it is getting worse. For me the main problem is disease.

“These birds carry all sorts of diseases and they have made some of my cows ill. However, we are not allowed to harm them as they are a protected species so we have to do what we can to keep them away from our cattle.

“Using falcons is a useful way of keeping them at bay – but it is not a permanent solution.”

Back at the Cheshire Falconry HQ at Blakemere Craft Centre near Northwich, Steve and his team are preparing to withdraw the patrols when the last of the starlings move on.

“But we’ve been laying down plans for next year,” said Steve. “Because with starlings, one thing is for sure – they’ll be back.”

For further information click onto www.cheshirefalconry .co.uk