Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Location
Hot Springs, AR
Start Date
6-4-2003 12:00 AM
Description
Scavenging birds that are attracted to feed at domestic waste landfill sites may transmit disease, cause nuisance and noise, carry garbage from sites, impact on areas of conservation concern, defecate on amenity grassland, neighbouring property and drinking water reservoirs, and pose problems for flight safety. Local planning controls may be used to prevent the establishment of potentially hazardous bird populations at such sites by implementing bird control measures as part of site licensing or management plans. It is crucial, therefore, to understand how best to implement the various techniques available on the market to achieve cost effective reductions in scavenging bird numbers. The UK Central Science Laboratory has scientifically evaluated a series of automated and actively implemented bird deterrence techniques over a period of four years. By evaluating the various factors that have caused breakdowns in individual systems, combinations of complimentary techniques have now been applied at a series of sites throughout England. Suites of automated systems, systems operated by site staff, and professionally implemented combinations of deterrence have been deployed and monitored. This paper describes the results of this study, the findings of which could be equally well applied to the deterrence of scavenging gulls and corvids from waste management facilities in North America.
Recommended Citation
Baxter, A. T. (2003). Efficacy of integrated bird management strategies at UK landfill sites. In Fagerstone, K.A. & Witmer, G.W. (Eds.), The Tenth Wildlife Damage Management Conference (229-236). Hot Springs, AR: National Wildlife Research Center.
Included in
Efficacy of Integrated Bird Management Strategies at UK Landfill Sites
Hot Springs, AR
Scavenging birds that are attracted to feed at domestic waste landfill sites may transmit disease, cause nuisance and noise, carry garbage from sites, impact on areas of conservation concern, defecate on amenity grassland, neighbouring property and drinking water reservoirs, and pose problems for flight safety. Local planning controls may be used to prevent the establishment of potentially hazardous bird populations at such sites by implementing bird control measures as part of site licensing or management plans. It is crucial, therefore, to understand how best to implement the various techniques available on the market to achieve cost effective reductions in scavenging bird numbers. The UK Central Science Laboratory has scientifically evaluated a series of automated and actively implemented bird deterrence techniques over a period of four years. By evaluating the various factors that have caused breakdowns in individual systems, combinations of complimentary techniques have now been applied at a series of sites throughout England. Suites of automated systems, systems operated by site staff, and professionally implemented combinations of deterrence have been deployed and monitored. This paper describes the results of this study, the findings of which could be equally well applied to the deterrence of scavenging gulls and corvids from waste management facilities in North America.