Scientific research helps prove the case for bird solution to pesky problem

A terrifying race incident where a massive flock of seagulls sent riders flying and injured horses prompted a research project that has not only potentially saved lives but spared the birds as well.

The science behind using birds of prey to scare off the pesky varieties is where Warrnambool's Professor Rob Wallis comes in.

Whether it be saving almond crops, keeping birds out of aeroplane jet engines or saving buildings from being destroyed by destructive corellas or seagulls, the idea has been turned into a business that has found success in more ways than one.

But to prove its success is more than just luck, Full Flight Birds of Prey director Graeme Coles turned to science and Professor Wallis to help. The team's eight years of research into the technique has been peer reviewed and published in two scientific journals - Australian Field Ornithology and International Pest Control.

The idea to use birds of prey to clear tracks of pesky birds during major carnivals such as the Melbourne Cup came after the 2005 incident which left five jockeys injured on a Sandown racetrack after a flock of seagulls flew into the horses during a race.

The mayhem erupted in the final race of the day as the horses came down the straight and the birds near the track took off in a panic directly into the gallopers. Several horses shied and dislodged their jockeys.

In a bid to avoid a repeat of those scenes, Mr Coles' birds of prey such as eagles were brought in to clear the race tracks of seagulls during the Melbourne Cup carnival.

"You could imagine if the Melbourne Cup had to be called off because of a massive fall like they had at Sandown when jockeys were in hospital," Professor Wallis, who is currently professor of research development at Federation University, in Ballarat, said. "There has been other methods to try and get rid of the seagulls like trying to change their habitat, poisoning them or scaring the birds by loud noises.

"I think the gulls come in because the people are there and there's food everywhere and then, of course, putting water in the middle to keep the course in good condition, that attracts the seagulls as well."

Although two years ago when there were no crowds at the races because of COVID-19 pandemic, the birds still came in, Professor Wallis said. "It's quite interesting," he said. "One of the big successes has been a big almond farm at Swan Hill and the corellas were just stripping the almonds when they were about to harvest them.

"They got the eagle in. The eagle flew over every morning and night and the corellas would disperse and they were able to harvest the crop without any losses."

Professor Wallis said they got lucky with the corellas that were targeting the almonds because they were nesting on the Murray River and they kept taking the same route to get to the orchard. "If the corellas had chosen a different flight path to the orchard, the technique might have been more challenging," Professor Wallis said.

The technique has been used at the Australian Open, the MCG, Malvern Vale Golf Course and to keep birds from destroying buildings - but that hasn't always been successful.

"The scientific bit of it is to see what species of raptor work best, and what other conditions are required. Is flying the eagle from one end to the other as effective as just holding an eagle and letting the seagulls see the eagle?" Professor Wallis said.

"Actually flying the owl elicited the biggest response and that's probably because the seagulls think: 'what's this nocturnal owl flying in the middle of the day? Let's get out of here'."

Professor Wallis said using the technique to scare away birds who were attacking buildings and destroying window frames had worked pretty well.

"One time it didn't work when seagulls were nesting on a Quest apartment block and seagulls were fiercely determined to protect their young and they just attacked the eagle," he said. "Put that down as a failure. It's not foolproof."

They have also been used at rubbish tips and aerodromes to disperse birds. "The last thing you want is birds being sucked into jets," Professor Wallis said.

The technique started in England as a sport where falcons would chase birds, Professor Wallis said. "Falconry is now very common in Saudi Arabia. The wealthy Saudis go out there with their favourite falcon and they try and chase down these prey birds," he said.

"It's quite a widespread technique and it is in response to people asking 'what is the alternative to poisoning them or shooting them?'"

Called compassionate conservation, it has been lauded as a good example of not causing harm to any animal. "The government is very supportive of this. They could just issue a pest destruction permit, but this is actually a nicer way," Professor Wallis said. "There is a lot of public concern now about broad-scale poisoning, which is probably the most widespread method used."

Corellas have been a big issue for Warrnambool in the past with the birds often stripping the top of Norfolk Island Pine trees. Over the past few decades, the city council has used "scare guns" in an attempt to move them on.

"Scare guns are very common. The thing is the birds habituate to them," Professor Wallis said. "And they will habituate to these eagles. That's why it's much better to do it when you have a short time period like a few weeks' racing and a few weeks to harvest the almonds. If you are looking for a whole year, they get used to it. There's no birds being killed and they may learn that it isn't so dangerous after all."

Professor Wallis said the corellas also used to "mercilessly" attack the golf course at Deakin University's in Warrnambool during his time as head of campus there. "The corellas just used to rip up the green. Our ground staff used to say 'what can we do about it?' That was before I knew about flying eagles over them," he said.

For Mr Coles, the idea of using his birds of prey to scare away flocks of birds started at the MCG. "Way, way back, the stadium was inundated with seagulls and affecting the game and broadcast," he said.

Around the same time he was also contacted about corellas wrecking the botanical garden in Ballarat. "Then it fizzled out for a while," he said.

But when he teamed up with Professor Wallis in recent years, it helped answer a lot of questions. "Rob has actually been a great help here because there was a lot of backlash to actually allowing us to use raptors for pest control," Mr Coles said. "Falconry in its true form is not allowed in Australia, that's why we do non-lethal forms - we don't kill anything.

"That seems to work well at the moment. Rob was instrumental in researching or at least documenting the results and putting it onto paper and before that it was not allowed.

"There was a lot of backlash, even from the department of environment, because they thought it was something that didn't work and there was no proof. But we've shown there is proof and it does work. Not in every case of course."

Always having a passion for the birds, Mr Coles now has about 50 including eagles, owls, falcons, hawks, kites at his Miners Rest property. "We breed a few species and sell them on or give them to zoos and wildlife parks," he said.

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