4 ms·

Rome enlists American falcons to hunt starlings

23 points by prawn 11y ago

balabaster 11y ago
It's only a matter of time before Italian Falcons unionize and start complaining about American Falcons coming in here and taking all their jobs...
- elthran 11y ago
  That's fine, they'll just upgrade to using Bald Eagles for extra freedom
antonioevans 11y ago
Just came back from a month in Rome. On the Tiber walkway there a bunch of art installations, bars and restaurants I ate at, never noticed the Starling "problem". To be honest the whole Tiber outside of the immediate walkway is pretty overrun by weeds and plants. Loads of places for them to nest. I would say start there.
JohnBooty 11y ago
Italy, we owed you a debt for all the delicious foods your emigrants brought to America with them. We're... we're good now, right? All squared up?
Brendinooo 11y ago
Interesting. How are starlings viewed in Europe? As far as I know they're not well-regarded in North America; they're only here because, and I am not joking, the American Acclimatization Society wanted to have all birds mentioned in Shakespeare to be present in North America. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_starling#North_America https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_starling#North_America) Just wondering if this is a new problem, some kind of ecosystem imbalance, or something else?
- matheweis 11y ago
  ... and 50 years from now, they will have some new initiative to deal with the issue of a large falcon population in Europe. I am actually OK with this, but wish we would be less afraid of doing similar things with other environmental issues like global warming... At scale, things like white roofs and ocean cloud misting, etc. would have provably positive effects. We're way, way, way past not screwing with the environment.
waterlesscloud 11y ago
A hotel in Cannes has been using falcons to scare off pigeons and gulls during the annual film festival there. http://www.rivieratimes.com/index.php/provence-cote-dazur-article/items/hotel-martinez-uses-hawks-to-scare-away-pigeons.html http://www.rivieratimes.com/index.php/provence-cote-dazur-ar...
11thEarlOfMar 11y ago
Chicago started using Peregrine Falcons to combat pigeons quite a while back. The falcons are federally protected and apparently, the effort was successful. https://www.fieldmuseum.org/science/special-projects/illinois-peregrines/peregrine-frequently-asked-questions https://www.fieldmuseum.org/science/special-projects/illinoi...

23 points by prawn 11y ago

It's only a matter of time before Italian Falcons unionize and start complaining about American Falcons coming in here and taking all their jobs...

elthran 11y ago
That's fine, they'll just upgrade to using Bald Eagles for extra freedom

antonioevans 11y ago

Just came back from a month in Rome. On the Tiber walkway there a bunch of art installations, bars and restaurants I ate at, never noticed the Starling "problem". To be honest the whole Tiber outside of the immediate walkway is pretty overrun by weeds and plants. Loads of places for them to nest. I would say start there.

JohnBooty 11y ago

Italy, we owed you a debt for all the delicious foods your emigrants brought to America with them. We're... we're good now, right? All squared up?

Brendinooo 11y ago

Interesting. How are starlings viewed in Europe? As far as I know they're not well-regarded in North America; they're only here because, and I am not joking, the American Acclimatization Society wanted to have all birds mentioned in Shakespeare to be present in North America. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_starling#North_America https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_starling#North_America) Just wondering if this is a new problem, some kind of ecosystem imbalance, or something else?

matheweis 11y ago
... and 50 years from now, they will have some new initiative to deal with the issue of a large falcon population in Europe. I am actually OK with this, but wish we would be less afraid of doing similar things with other environmental issues like global warming... At scale, things like white roofs and ocean cloud misting, etc. would have provably positive effects. We're way, way, way past not screwing with the environment.

waterlesscloud 11y ago

A hotel in Cannes has been using falcons to scare off pigeons and gulls during the annual film festival there. http://www.rivieratimes.com/index.php/provence-cote-dazur-article/items/hotel-martinez-uses-hawks-to-scare-away-pigeons.html http://www.rivieratimes.com/index.php/provence-cote-dazur-ar...

11thEarlOfMar 11y ago

Chicago started using Peregrine Falcons to combat pigeons quite a while back. The falcons are federally protected and apparently, the effort was successful. https://www.fieldmuseum.org/science/special-projects/illinois-peregrines/peregrine-frequently-asked-questions https://www.fieldmuseum.org/science/special-projects/illinoi...