Here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex we had a bird problem. When I say, had, I mean it seriously in the past tense.
You see, scavenger birds were everywhere. Seed-spitting, slime-pooping little pests that were infesting downtown trees and making a mess - all over! Grackle, pigeons (and their cousin the dove), and other feathered friends were taking over and depositing reminders on cars, buildings, and visitors that something had to be done. I saw a flock of tweeters soil a crowd of opera buffs dressed in tuxedos and gowns out in front of Bass Hall one evening. Yuk!
Needless to say, after that little mishap, those nasty birds had pooped their last.
First they tried putting chicken wire on the trees. The birds sat on the buildings and light poles instead. They placed scary decoys and played predator sounds on loud speakers with still no success.
Then it was suggested they nest the mighty falcon in the area. Bingo!
We raise falcons here in North Texas and having them relocated to various locations around town to roam freely and breed put a huge kink in the other birds' pooping agenda.
Flying critters are the falcon's number one meal, but they will grab small land mammals too. It has been cool watching these majestic predators hunt and raise their young from the outlying rural areas to the urban sprawl of DFW. They have taken to the area and often can be seen soaring high above downtown near the tops of the buildings and hunting right in your own back yard.
I love watching them - a perfect killing machine that can dive-bomb their prey at 240mph. I've seen them attack in tandem and solo. Like the eagles we watch up in Canada on our fishing trips, these predatory birds are awesome beautiful creatures.
BUT...
There may be one benefit the city did not expect.
We have lots-and-lots of drum fish here in Texas too. Drum, carp - it's all the same. They eat the eggs of game fish until there are no more game fish. At Joe Pool Lake Marina they come right out of the water onto the dock to be fed corn pellets.
Well, check the photo below...
This may not be a wise thing to do any more, if you are a drum fish or a carp, that is.
