Falcons Patrol Sonoma County Vineyard

[Submitted by Camille over at Huntington Wine Cellars]

Clouds of starlings undulating low across the Sonoma County wine country landscape are a common sight during harvest time of year. Next time you see one, think of William Shakespeare and Huntington Wine Cellars located here in Healdsburg.

Shakespeare’s single reference to starlings in Henry IV inspired Eugene Schiffelin to import some 60 of the European birds to New York’s Central Park in 1890. It seems Eugene held the haplessly romantic view that all birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works should be represented in the New World.

Over a century and 200 million avian offspring later, the European starling has become a virulent threat to the United States wine industry. Thousands strong, a flock of starlings (known as a ―murmuration) can alight upon a vineyard and decimate it in minutes as the hungry birds tear apart ripening grapes to extract the seeds inside.

Many vineyards deploy plastic netting and other more invasive measures to protect their grapes. Huntington Wine Cellars is at the forefront in managing the threat posed by starlings in an environmentally sensitive way. In a twist on the ages-old sport of falconry, Huntington uses falcons to scare off—not kill—the starlings before they can inflict damage on the vineyard.

As harvest approaches, Huntington contractor Jim Tigan who owns Tactical Avian Predators launches daily falcon patrols to guard vineyards at most risk to starling damage. Native and non-native bird species can cause costly crop losses and have a detrimental effect on grape quality. The mere presence of the falcons in the vineyard is very effective in abating the problem in a humane manner.

Once harvest is finished, the falcons will be rewarded with time off before returning to their other jobs of airport, golf course and municipal water supply protection.

Located in Healdsburg, California, Huntington Wine Cellars crafts award winning premium wines that showcase their vineyard terroir and individual varietal characteristics. For more information, visit www.huntingtonwine.com or contact by phone at 707.433-5215.