Bird Gard
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We chose a Pinot Noir block at our Carneros ranch that has had bird problems since 1976. This particular block…has consistently suffered annual bird damage and subsequent yield reductions. It was very impressive to set up the various Bird Gard systems and watch the bird damage be eliminated. It was quite amazing to see no bird damage occur at all in the entire block. We were able to extend the ripening time with no pressure to pick early due to the annual bird damage that many times determines the harvest date in this block. The system has many advantages, the most obvious being the reduction of bird damage and subsequent yield savings. In addition, there are labor savings as well as an increase in quality if you are picking early to avoid excessive bird damage. I am now a convinced zealot and am relieved that the awful problem of vineyard bird control appears to have an economical and non-violent solution. I believe our neighbors would also concur with my relief. This year we had no complaints about our bird control methods, as we have had in past years. With the cost of your equipment and the batteries to run the systems I believe the savings from one year closely approximates the capital costs….I am sure this system makes economic sense in our given vineyard setting. After this harvest seasons experience I would error on the side of overkill rather than skimping. It seems that multiple systems of distress calls, and (harassment sounds) creating total confusion worked the best. With a strong system in place we called in hawks and drove off all pest birds including cedar waxwings. Thanks for your product introduction and if you have any skeptical grape growers with bird problems have them call me to listen to a testimonial. Last year’s yield was decreased 50% on the red varieties. This year the harvest was virtually left undamaged due to the Bird Gard unit. I was very pleased with the Bird Gard and would not hesitate to recommend it to other grape growers. The bird repellent equipment was highly successful in the fall of 1999. I was…a bit skeptical due to my past failures with sound cannons, shotguns and artificial bird stress calls. Our vineyard is surrounded by ash and oak trees that attract large numbers of roosting birds. Prior to fall 1999 we used costly and labor-intensive bird netting for damage control. This harvest year we had zero bird damage due to our use of Bird Gard sound equipment. In early November when we harvested the last of our grapes, we disconnected the sound system early in the morning and started picking grapes. As we were picking hundreds of robins, starlings, and cedar waxwings flew into the vineyard. As an experiment we reconnected the sound system, all birds immediately flew far away. I look forward to using Bird Gard bird repellent equipment for many years. The Bird Gard unit’s performance was very impressive and we are pleased with the results. The test (vineyard) was part of a 3.8-acre block stripped of its crop over a two-day period by birds last year. While the vineyard is far from its potential, we did harvest 1.5 tons of grapes this year. I believe that the yield would have been much less if not for the Bird Gard. The alarm does a good job of scaring birds and it also does a good job of attracting predators. The three (Bird Gard units) we used together are extremely effective for bird control and our neighbors appreciate the lower sound levels. The species controlled was the common robin. The check in this instance was 14 years of annual loss. This year I experienced zero losses. It resulted in an additional six to eight tons of harvest on five acres of (blue)berries. Control expenses in the past…were significant. With the start of damage and the deployment of the Bird Gard units, crows abandoned (the orchards). We observed crows, sometimes in sizable flocks, in the vicinity…but, not in the treated orchards. Damage levels were…the lowest we have ever recorded. Based on bird counts, damage assessments, and economic analysis the approach was successful. Operating during the daylight hours, the Bird Gard units provided a full-time degree of control when farm personnel were not present. The distress calls also reduced the need for shooting and pyrotechnics and thus the costs for those aspects of control. The initial response was dramatic; crows virtually abandoned the orchards after the start of the broadcasts. The integrated crow control program resulted in low damage levels on the study orchards. Distress calls played an important role in the overall control program. Distress calls for crows should be incorporated into control programs designed to protect agricultural crops whenever possible. I am writing to let you know how successful we were with your products during the 1999 harvest. We used a variety of your devices at Knudsen Vineyards and installed them as per your recommendations. There are sections of the vineyard that we normally write off as too hard to protect. This year the harvest was on and off so that on off days there was no one around to scare the birds. We took days off with the confidence that no disasters would occur in our absence. It was not a problem. |
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