WA apple orchardists trialing AVIX lasers to deter black cockatoos in Jarrahdale
Good Fruit and Vegetables reports…
We all know that a screech of black cockatoos hovering over a crop can send shivers down the spine of an orchardist. But growers in Dwellingup, Western Australia, have partnered with the conservation group, BirdLife Australia, to trial a non-harmful method of deterring the native birds.
Baudin's Black Cockatoos are notorious for their love of pome and stonefruit, much to the dismay of growers in southwest WA. Current exclusion methods, such as fruit netting and scaring techniques, including gas guns, are often expensive, labour intensive and noisy. Black cockatoos have been known to adapt quickly, with many scaring techniques becoming less effective.
The trial will use a bird-friendly autonomous laser deterrent system, developed by the international Bird Control Group to keep these critically endangered birds off the orchards. According to the group, laser deterrents present an opportunity for long-term, bird-friendly orchard management.
The lasers trigger the bird's natural fight or flight instinct upon seeing the green light approaching, making them flee. The laser system has already shown promising results in deterring other species of cockatoos from macadamia farms in NSW and parrots from apple orchards in Victoria, reducing bird-related damage by 90 percent. Watch the video below.