For Restaurants, Hotels, Resorts and Golf Courses With Hawkeye Bird Control LLC

•  What is Bird Abatement?
  Bird control or abatement involves different methods to remove, eliminate and deter pest birds from an area. There are physical deterrents such as netting, bird spikes and electrical wire systems; visual deterrents such as fake decoys like scarecrows, fake owls, or using flash tape that move with the wind to scare birds away; auditory deterrents - noises that scare birds away. Visual and auditory deterrents typically only work in the short term - the birds get used to it very quickly and it no longer poses a threat to them. Habitat modification to remove food sources can deter birds. Hawkeye uses Falconry for abatement, our birds of prey scare pest birds away.
• What kinds of Birds can be scared away using Falconry?
  Pest birds is along list, including - grackles, doves, starlings, pigeons, seagulls, cormorants, swallows, crows, anhingas.
• Can I use falconry for bird control in wildlife protected areas/sanctuaries?
  Yes, falconry scares off the pest birds. Birds of prey are Mother Natures way of controlling bird populations and if done with all the proper state and federal permitting is perfectly legal.

Hawkeye Bird & Animal Control LLC has over 30 years of experience dealing with bird abatement. Birds in southern Florida can and do become a problem because of an abundance of food. Some people like to feed the birds and put out seed for them, others throw crumbs from their plates while eating on the patio. This isn’t good for either the birds or for business for a variety of reasons:

• Birds get used to being fed in this location and come back looking for more food. 
• The birds get used to people, they no longer fear humans.
• The birds can become very bold and actually take food from plates as it’s being served or as it’s being eaten by a human.
• They also get used to food being available to them so they no longer forage for their own food. 

While birds are beautiful creatures to watch and their song is very melodious and enjoyable, sharing your meal with a bird should not be on your list of pastimes. 

Restaurants, Hotels, Resorts and Golf Courses, which Florida is famous for, tend to accumulate a lot of birds because of the vastly available food. Food gets dropped on the ground or thrown to the birds. Kids love to watch wildlife and feed the birds. But, when birds become habituated to human fare, it’s hard to convince them to only expect leftovers.

Falconry for Bird Control

Hawkeye Bird Control uses falconry to scare off pest birds. We do not kill, euthanize or harm the birds in any way, unless the client asks specifically for euthanasia and there is no other way to deal with the birds. In this case, depending on the species of bird, federal, state and local laws may dictate permitting for a different approach. If the client asks for euthanasia of pest birds and the law allows for it, we'll get the necessary permits from federal and/or state regulatory bodies.

We advocate for Wildlife

Our birds of prey are taught to scare away birds, not to hunt them. Often, it only takes the flight of our hawks across the yard to scare away any birds that come begging for food. Watching a bird of prey soar across the sky is a wonderful sight to behold. Birds of prey are majestic creatures in the service of Mother Nature to control populations of birds and small mammals.

Birds of prey are used by scientists as a barometer of the health of the ecosystems. When there are healthy populations of birds of prey we know the ecosystem is in balance and healthy. Many bird populations become out of control because of the availability of food and they are able to lay more eggs and hatch more chicks. This causes the ecosystem to fall out of balance. At Hawkeye, we discourage the public from feeding birds or other wildlife. It’s not healthy for them to eat human processed foods and they end up malnourished and more susceptible to illness and disease; diseases that can spread to people. Additionally, putting food out for them limits their drive to forage for their own food. Birds typically eats insects and seeds. By doing so they are part of the natural pest control crew and keep insect populations in check. This is Mother Nature's way. Please, don’t feed the wildlife.

So How Does it Work?

Our typical program for bird abatement at restaurants, hotels, resorts, and golf courses in Florida starts with flying a bird of prey 3 to 4 half days a week at varying times of the day and see how the birds react to this. For areas where birds are more problematic, we have the falconer use lasers to target and scare the birds and also to guide our bird of prey to where we want them to fly. 

Next Steps

Once our program has started and the birds in the area know there is going to be a hawk flying around their feeding places it tends to lessen the number of birds very quickly and very drastically. Birds of prey are apex predators and, of course, the birds are the prey and they know it. We add or subtract to the initial schedule depending on response, the species of bird, the time of year, and possibly migration habits. There are a few businesses that may require 5 to 7 days a week to get swarms of birds fully under control.

About Hawkeye

Hawkeye has the knowledge, skills, expertise and experience to handle any bird control and abatement problem using Mother Nature's best defense: Our birds of prey. We know birds of prey and we know pest birds. 

Our Falconers

Hawkeye Bird & Animal Control LLC is led by two Master Falconers. Co-Founder Dan Frankian is not only a master falconer, but also a licensed trapper and has special certifications that allow for shooting in sensitive environments. Over the past 30+ years, he has taught many falconers, including our local veterinarian. He has worked with Airports world wide and is part of the International Bird Strike Committee. 

Hawkeye advocates for wildlife. Our birds of prey are taught to scare, not to hunt and eat. We use Mother Nature's best defense for overpopulations of birds species that pose a threat to human health. Wild birds carry over 60 diseases that can harm humans - both viral and bacterial. Bird droppings are a problem whenever there are large numbers of birds congregating. Bird droppings in food happens more than you’d think. The dried droppings get disturbed and the diseases may become airborne. Anyone cleaning up dried bird droppings MUST wear personal protective equipment and the proper cleaning solutions to ensure their own health while cleaning. 

Exceptions:

There are several locations in Southern Florida, and Palm Beach County that are designated as bird sanctuaries, such as Palm Beach Island, Loxahatchee, Cypress Creek, Delray Oaks, etc.. Within these areas it is “unlawful for any person to shoot, trap or in any manner kill, wound, or maim a bird of any kind, or at any time to throw at any bird any kind of missile with slingshots or any other weapon, or to disturb their eggs or their young or their nests.”