Eugene weekly., May 17, 2012, Page 38, Image 38

R
UNCORKED
Battling Birds
R
The endless war of wings and wine in Willamette Valley BY DANTE ZUÑIGA-WEST
A
bove us, avian overlords command the
sky. They are capable of traveling great
distances across open sea, hovering
motionless in midair and swooping
down to seize prey between sharp talons.
Sure, some of them seem harmless, but who really knows
what they’re doing when they’re soaring overhead, hiding
in the trees like government assassins or peering into your
bedroom window like spies?
For centuries, these fowl things were the emissaries
of kings and queens, tasked with carrying sensitive
information capable of toppling governments and ruining
lives. Centuries before that, evidence suggests that they
may have hunted our ancestors.
Birds should never be trusted, particularly because
they sometimes stand in the way between man and wine
— an intolerable offense. One could even go so far as to
speculate that this aggression is personal — a preemptive
strike of sorts, aimed at keeping man in his place, on the
ground and without solace.
Ask almost any wino and he will tell you that he imbibes
his medicine in an attempt to feel at peace. It’s ironic, really,
because what symbol does mankind primarily associate
with peace? A dove. This is a deep-seeded sort of thing.
Most people who own and work vineyards would agree.
“They’re pests,” says local vineyard worker James Shelly,
who has plied his trade all around the world. “They can make
it so you don’t make any money at all off a harvest.”
Robins, starlings, mockingbirds, fi nches — during the
fall, when grapes hang heavy on the vine, these creatures
become the enemy of wine. They will fl y miles from their
roosts to feed, and once they’ve targeted a food source it
is incredibly diffi cult to get them to leave. The sweeter or
earlier the grape, the more the birds crave it. So vineyard
hands have been forced to retaliate, in the name of wine.
“If you have a treeline anywhere near your vineyard,
you’ve got bird problems,” says Dustin Lotspeich,
manager of Pheasant Hill Vineyard in Talent. “Strategically
deploying bird netting is one method we use.”
You can intuit from Lotspeich’s language just how seri-
ous this war has become. And, as is the case with most war-
fare, he who holds the psychological advantage often wins.
One of the most effective weapons vineyard folks uti-
OW N E R D E A N I N M A N
AND TUCKER DOG
OF MASON RIDGE
V I N E YA R D S P R E PA R E
T H E P R O PA N E C A N O N ,
ONE OF SEVERAL BIRD
DETERRENTS
lize against the feathered invaders is acoustic repellent.
Digital recordings of birds under stress are set on a timer
and played in the vicinity of the grapes as well as near sur-
rounding treelines, all in an effort to dissuade the birds.
This tactic seems solid. I mean, think about it: If you heard
the sounds of human beings screaming bloody murder out-
side your new favorite restaurant, you probably wouldn’t
go near that place to get dinner.
There are times, however, when the fl ocks are too massive,
the enemy too strong. In these cases vineyards are forced to
employ even more powerful weapons against the birds.
Enter the bird bangers. These nonlethal explosive
repellants are intended to haze the birds, similar to the
way a concussion grenade exploding in your kitchen might
compel you to stop eating and leave immediately. Some of
these bird bangers can get pretty serious.
“Yeah, when it gets real bad you might have to use a
propane canon,” Lotspeich says.
This canon does not actually fi re a projectile, but rather
uses propane gas to cause a detonation that closely mimics
a shotgun.
Though this may seem a bit extreme, when you hear
horror stories about fl ocks of birds cleaning out more than
a ton of fruit in one season, you might reconsider — that’s
a lot of wine to miss out on.
On large vineyards in other countries, the warfare
is bloodier. “I’ve seen plenty of birds get smoked on
vineyards in New Zealand during harvest season,” Shelly
says.
The picture Shelly paints of his time on New Zealand
vineyards is apocalyptic in scale. Often workers are
employed for the sole purpose of combating birds. He says
men armed with shotguns and riding ATVs were constantly
on patrol, blasting and hazing the birds with impunity. It
would seem the war between wings and spirits has indeed
become one of attrition.
It’s illegal to shoot songbirds in Oregon, so it is unlikely
we will see any serious ordnance lobbed into the sky after
these armies of winged thieves. But the next time you sit
down to enjoy that glass of Oregon pinot, remember those
who have fought for your freedom. Freedom isn’t free —
raise your glass. F
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