Description
Starlings travel in vast groups and can completely wipe out a vineyard of wine grapes. The starlings have a complicated system of communication and send out scouts to check on the progress of the grapes. It is the seeds that they are after, but in the process of getting the seeds, the grapes become unsuitable for making wine. I was invited to photograph a family of falcons, working a vineyard in Healdsburg CA. At about 3 weeks before harvest the falcons and their falconers are called upon to discourage starlings and other birds from damaging the grapes. The falconers play a game with the falcons, they take off the hoods that keep them calm while traveling, then send them flying around the perimeter of the area. Next the falconer swings a ball on the end of a tether around in a circle as the falcon swoops down and tries to grab it. The falconer jerks the tether erratically so the the falcon will miss it, which it did about half the time, making for a fun game for both man and beast. While the game is going on, any starling scouts in the neighborhood are taking notice and telling their friends to move to another vineyard. They fly swooping down at up to 240 mph.
