Marlborough vineyards scare birds with drones

Thursday, 7 March 2019

From scarecrows to drones, bird scaring tactics have come a long way. 

Grape growers will go to great lengths to protect their crops and without them, and sometimes even with them, birds can significantly damage to vineyards.

Fake hawk kites, netting, shot guns, gas guns, reflective tape, even releasing hawks; are all common tactics used in Marlborough to keep birds at bay. 

But technology is changing the bird scaring ball game, with some companies introducing drones to target bird 'hot spots'. 

**READ MORE:

* Town water trucked to vineyards as dry summer gets 'desperate'

* Warm weather means an 'incredible' early grape harvest in Marlborough

* Bird banger use in breach of by-law

* Bird grape battle rolls on**

Berakah Vineyard Management (BVM) viticulturalist Logie MacKenzie said drones were proving to be a very effective bird scaring tool. 

'We're trying to reduce the amount of guns we have on the blocks.'  

'The big driver for moving to drones is from a health and safety point of view,' he said. 

They still used gas guns, or 'bird bangers' in some areas, devices which emit a large crack when discharged, MacKenzie said. 

'But they can be pretty contentious around constant noise all day or not being turned off. 

'At least with a drone it's either flown or it's not, and if anyone has got a problem, they can safely approach the person.' 

With a drone, they could cover a much larger area in a shorter time, he said. 

'We can sit up at the top of a 120 hectare vineyard and cover it all.'

Staff had to have licenses to operate the shot guns, whereas anyone could be trained to fly a drone, MacKenzie said. 

BVM still used people on motorbikes carrying a shotgun, parking up in bird 'hot spots' and shooting, he said.  

They would also drive 'round and round' the vineyard with a horn, trying to scare the birds. 

'The idea of the drone is that it will replace some of the guns, but it will also replace the need to be driving around.'

This meant less fuel and less lead from the cartridges, he said. 

'There's definitely environmental benefits.' 

They purchased their first drone two years ago and have upped their fleet since then. 

'With our clients and ourselves, we're probably running four or five drones on various blocks.' 

This year, one client had purchased a drone which also made predator bird sounds, he said. 

Since the introduction of drones, they had also been able to reduce the amount of netting they used, and removed netting altogether on one block. 

'If we can reduce the netting, there can be a cost saving to the client,' he said.  

Each year, as the gas-guns rolled out, complaints rolled in from tired residents. 

In the past week, a number of posts had popped up on community social media pages saying consistent banging had disturbed their sleep.  

A spokeswoman for Civil Aviation Authority New Zealand said this was not a 'cut and dry situation' and each vineyard owner or operator would first need to check whether they were allowed to fly their drone. 

'Drone operators normally don't need permits or training when operating safely within the CAA rules over their own land,' she said. 

'CAA recommends that Marlborough vineyard owners wanting to use drones over their own land, check first whether the land is in a no-fly zone.

Even if it was a no-fly zone, permission might still be able to be obtained, she said. 

'Drone operators should not fly their drone closer than 4km from an airport or helipad unless you meet the specific requirements.

'You also must not fly a drone higher than 120 metres above the ground.

The CAA recommended all drone operators get training as drones, like any other aircraft, needed to be operated safely and responsibly. There are training organisations listed www.caa.govt.nz/drones 

Check for no-fly zones at www.airshare.co.nz