San Francisco metro system hires bird of prey to scare pigeons away

Reuters ^ | 08/11/2022 | Reuters

[ChicagoConservative27]

Aug 11 (Reuters) - Metro system riders in California's San Francisco Bay Area may have noticed a new station guard in recent months.

A 5-year-old Harris's hawk named Pac-Man has taken up the perch at El Cerrito del Norte station, where he's on the look out - not for fare evaders, but pigeons.

Ricky Ortiz, a falconer with Falcon Force and Pac-Man's handler, began patrolling with the bird at the station this summer, contracting with the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, or BART, to keep the pigeons at bay and protect commuters from pigeon poop.

[ChicagoConservative27]

Does the hawk chase away the homeless outside the stations taking a dump also?🙄

[ConservativeInPA]

Sounds like another attack on the homeless. Nothing wrong with street squab.

[Michael.SF.]

We go to Avalon on Catalina Island. Descanso beach is a private beach a hundred yards down the coast. They use a falconer to get rid of the sea gulls.

Very effective.

[Pol-92064]

Everyone knows that you need an Owl to do that for you! ;-)

[dfwgator]

Tom Lehrer - Poisoning Pigeons In The Park

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY

[Da Coyote]

Just place pictures of the Hillabeast everywhere. No sentient life form will come near.

[Sacajaweau]

We hired dogs here to chase the geese away from a retention pond in a wealthy neighborhood.

Us poor folks got a kick out of it...poop all over the place and dogs barking. Sounds like all are having a good time. LOL

[lee martell]

Too bad Hawks don’t swoop down on those dastardly Canadian Geese. Gardeners beware of the Geese Release!

[Kartographer]

How long before the illegal Mexican Eagles start coming across the border and taking jobs away from American Birds of Prey?

[DoodleBob]

Skinner: Well, I was wrong. The lizards are a godsend.
Lisa: But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're overrun by lizards?
Skinner: No problem. We simply release wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards.
Lisa: But aren't the snakes even worse?
Skinner: Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.
Lisa: But then we're stuck with gorillas!
Skinner: No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.

[fwdude]

I don’t mind pigeons, it’s the grackles that are a plague in my area.

[waterhill]

What would one call a pterodactyl handler?

[Zuriel]

**What would one call a pterodactyl handler?**

big bat man?

[waterhill]

Those dirty bas...uh, birds are actually federally protected...

High concentrate orange oil from a good spray rig will kill them.

[llevrok]

We hired dogs here to chase the geese away from a retention pond in a wealthy neighborhood.

Border collies are good moving seals off docks too

[Honorary Serb]

Harris’ hawk of Southern Arizona:

https://www.desertmuseum.org/visit/rff_harris.php

[ProtectOurFreedom]

LOL...my first thought, too. Can you imagine peregrine falcons diving on the bums at 160 mph! That would clear up the bum and druggie population population in no time at all.

[oblomov]

Shiva, by Robinson Jeffers

There is a hawk that is picking the birds out of our sky,
She killed the pigeons of peace and security,
She has taken honesty and confidence from nations and men,
She is hunting the lonely heron of liberty.
She loads the arts with nonsense, she is very cunning
Science with dreams and the state with powers to catch them at last.
Nothing will escape her at last, flying nor running.
This is the hawk that picks out the star’s eyes.
This is the only hunter that will ever catch the wild swan;
The prey she will take last is the wild white swan of the beauty of things.
Then she will be alone, pure destruction, achieved and supreme,
Empty darkness under the death-tent wings.
She will build a nest of the swan’s bones and hatch a new brood,
Hang new heavens with new birds, all be renewed.

[sasquatch]

I chase them away with a .410
Works great.

[Roccus]

Working over a manhole on B’way on Manhattan’s UWS (Moscow on Hudson) one day when a flurry of feathers started raining down. I looked up, but sky was clear. Old biddy waiting to cross the street asked, “What’s this” I replied, “Probably some falcon getting lunch”... “ Oh, that’s terrible “ she spluttered.

Perigrine and Merlin have a field day in Manhattan with all the pigeons. I once watched a Peregrine do stoop after stoop between skyscrapers in lower Manhattan. Not sure if it was hunting or just doing touch-and-gos. lol
Once found a female merlin perched on a pipe in a basement of an apartment house on Malcolm X Blvd in Harlem. Have no idea how she got in or out, but when I checked a couple of hours later, she was gone