WEST LINN, Ore. — Alina Blankenship with Sky Guardian Falconry says a lot of wineries employ birds of prey this time of year to protect their crops.
Only about 25% of the many wineries in the Willamette Valley are still using propane canons to try and scare unwanted migrating birds away and keep them from hurting their crops. Blankenshipo calls those things dinner bells. She says a lot of these species of birds are intelligent and remember things, so sometimes they are able to associate those large booms with an all you can eat buffet. Whereas if birds of prey are in the air, they have no interest in returning.
Dogs are often used on the ground the flush the birds into flight. They can’t help but notice a hawk or falcon in predatory mode and off they go…