SU0007861 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Bird Control Program Forward Landfill—Manteca, California operational gull control program was again a falconry-based program operated by Airstrike Bird Control, LLC. The program used several falcons (Peregrine male, Peregrine female, Sakar Falcon, Gyrfalcon/Peregrine hybrid, etc.) to control gulls at and around the landfill. Control in subsequent years was based mainly on the use of male and female Peregrine Falcons. Control was achieved by flying the falcons to lure and by allowing them to chase the gulls on occasion. The program was also supplemented with the use of pyrotechnics to scare gulls away during conditions when it is difficult to fly the falcons(e.g. foggy and stormy conditions). The objective of the control program was to prevent any gulls from feeding at the landfill or landing anywhere on the landfill property. If the gulls cannot feed at the landfill or loaf on the _ landfill or drink from occasional standing water, then they will stop returning to the landfill on subsequent days. There can be no gaps in the control coverage that might allow gulls to feed for even a few minutes because a gull can obtain all the food that it needs for the day in about 20 to _ 30 minutes of feeding at a landfill. Therefore, even small gaps in coverage could allow gulls to obtain enough food to encourage them to return to the landfill on a subsequent day. The operational gull control program began on Monday, 27 September 2010 with the intention of being in place before gulls arrived in the Stockton area for the winter. The results of the 2010-2011 program were reported in Davis (2011). In the following year, the gull control _ program was conducted from 1 December 2011 to 12 April 2012. The program was again falconry-based and was conducted again by Airstrike Bird Control Inc. The program was the same as that conducted in the previous year. _ In 2012-2013, the falconry-based gull control program by Airstrike Bird Control Inc. at Forward Landfill began on 15 October 2012 and continued until 13 April 2013. The program was _ supplemented with control using remote-controlled model airplanes and pyrotechnics before the falconry program began (1-10 October 2012)and after it had finished(15 April to 15 May 2013). Monitoring Program The success of the gull control program has been monitored in 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and — 2012-2013 by LGL Limited to provide an independent assessment of the program. The monitoring has included: 1. Daily observations made by the controllers during their control activities. These included records of all gulls that approached the landfill or flew past the landfill during the day. 2. Observations on and around the landfill by LGL personnel to confirm the observations by the controllers. 3. Observations at Forward Landfill by LGL personnel on Saturday afternoons and Sundays when the landfill was closed,the waste is covered, and the controllers were not on duty. 4. Observations at other landfills by LGL personnel to compare with the results from Forward Landfill. The independent monitoring of the 2012-2013 program began on 15 October 2012. Several sources of data are used in the evaluation. 3 30 December 2013