Atop a hill in the Carneros region on an overcast morning last week, Rebecca Rosen opened the back of her Toyota Tundra and lifted out one of the three hooded birds perched within – a 6-year-old anatum Peregrine falcon named Rambo.
Rambo’s mission that morning: Protecting chardonnay grapes owned by Bouchaine Vineyards from hungry, smaller birds.
“Falconry,” said Rosen, owner of Authentic Abatement, “is one of the more effective ways of scaring birds. Because if you don’t leave you get eaten.”
Netting, propane-based bird cannons, or some combination of the two, are favored methods among growers to stem the loss of their fruit from the blackbirds, starlings and house finches common in the area. Still others have opted for a more predator-based approach.
That’s where Rosen comes in.