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July 17, 2006
Ventura County Star
Keeping things tidy;
Trained falcons keep seagulls from scattering refuse at the Simi landfill
By Karen Quincy Loberg
The earth shakes under the continual flow of dump trucks roaring up a landfill mountain. They stop at the top to deposit Ventura County's refuse. Seagulls ignore the noisy trucks and pick away at the field of garbage. But nearby, a focused hunter glides toward them, a falcon making its unique contribution to keeping the rubbish in one place.
Grover, Elmo, Squeaker, Bonnie, Zoe and Grave Digger are raptors patrolling the Simi Valley Landfill.
Master falconer Joe Suffredini rewards Grover, who has returned from a no-kill hunt at the Simi Valley Landfill. High above them are the seagulls that the falcon has frightened away. Raptors are taken to the landfill three to five days a week to frighten away scavengers.
Seagulls flee the pile of trash without any garbage in tow. Trained falcons use the garbage as camouflage as they approach the seagulls to scare them away without harming them. Waste Management hired Avian Entertainment to provide the trained raptors.
Three to five days a week, Joe Suffredini and his crew of falconers bring them to the landfill, bypassing the queue of trucks lumbering up the trash heap.
When the seagulls drop down to scavenge, master falconer Suffredini releases a single bird of prey. With a few full sweeps of its wings, the bird is aloft, then it glides low, camouflaging itself against the visual confusion of trash. The seagulls lift from the stinking mounds, leaving their food behind.
Landfill operator Waste Management has conducted an ongoing pest abatement program at the site for several years but saw the number of gulls drop substantially after turning to falcons five years ago. Suffredini's company, Avian Entertainment, contracts with Waste Management for the duty.
Licensed falconers handle the strong, swift and sensitive birds. Three of them come from the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College.
Suffredini, 32, of Castaic, says attacks on the seagulls are "very, very rare." The gulls are protected by the U.S. Department of Fish & Game.
With eyesight keener than an eagle and diving speeds of more than 200 mph, the falcon bypasses the fleeing gulls, makes a slow gliding turn and directs its attention on Suffredini. He swings a bird-shaped leather lure to attract the raptor, which has been trained for a year to return to the falconer.
At the end of their flights, Suffredini rewards the birds with pieces of quail for scattering the gulls and returning to their handlers. The falconer wears a thick leather glove to protect his hand and holds the quail in a leather pouch.
"I know what a duck feels like when they get hit by a falcon," Suffredini said, recalling the numbness when a falcon unexpectedly touched his bare hand while diving past him. The injury was not lasting or career-threatening.
Suffredini's birds not only deter pests but are actors hired through Avian Entertainment. They have appeared in the movies "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "Haunted Mansion," "Walk the Line" and "Seabiscuit."
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