Palma embarks on annual campaign to disperse flocks of starlings

IN a campaign which began yesterday, controlled fireworks and trained Falcon birds of prey will be the principal methods used by Palma City Council technicians in their efforts to remove mass gatherings of starlings from treetops around the city.

The Council explained that every autumn, flocks of starlings in search of favourable wintering grounds generate, noise, dirt, and smell in Palma. The campaign to remove them from the city in no way harms the birds but discourages from settling in urban settings where they become a nuisance and a health risk. Although the use of non-harmful fireworks is effective in frightening off the birds, the Council combines the technique with that of freeing falcons in the midst of the flocks to minimise noise nuisance.

Falcons are the natural predators of starlings.