UMPQUA, Ore. — A falcon flies overhead, protecting the ripe blueberries waiting to be harvested on the bushes below.

Birds such as starlings, pigeons and finches may enjoy feasting on the sweet fruit, but the falcon is a predator that owns the air space above the field. The falcon is rarely challenged, and the other birds find their meals elsewhere and the fruit is protected and eventually harvested.

“We’re very pleased with the results,” said Paul Norris, co-owner of Norris Blueberry Farms in the Umpqua area. “The falcons aren’t 100% successful, but they keep the other birds moving and don’t let them (congregate) in large flocks.”

The falcons flying over the Norris blueberries in the last several weeks were under the direction of falconers Justin Robertson and Nicole Serrano. Robertson is the owner of Max Yield Falconry, based near West Linn, Ore.

“I’d say absolutely it’s been successful,” Robertson said of the work his falcons have done in protecting the blueberry crop. “At the beginning of the season, I saw flocks of 200 to 300 birds coming in to the blueberries and now there might be a flock of 25 birds. It’s made a big difference. It’s Mother Nature, an active means of bird control.

Falconry-based nuisance bird abatement is growing in agriculture, Robertson explained. “It is used for high-value fruit crop loss prevention.”

Robertson and his falcons have been flying over cherry and apple orchards, blueberry fields and winegrape vineyards in Oregon and Washington for the past 12 years. A couple of other falconers and their birds work for Max Yield Falconry, flying over multiple fruits as they ripen.

“It’s a juggling act, dealing with Mother Nature and never knowing for sure when fruit is going to ripen,” Robertson said.

This was the first year the Norris farm  contracted with Max Yield. Two years ago, the farm had a 12- to 15-acre block of blueberry bushes pretty much stripped clean of berries by birds. Paul Norris said it was hard to measure the value lost.

The farm purchased and used drones in an effort to chase off birds during the last two summers, but there weren’t enough operators to keep the drones in the air as much as necessary. The drones also had to take breaks to have their batteries recharged.

Norris said the farm didn’t try air cannons because he didn’t think the noise was all that effective in scaring off birds, and the noise is a bother to neighbors.

Falcons, however, are silent predators of the smaller birds and can cover several acres of fruit in seconds.

“The nuisance birds learn quickly with falcons to go elsewhere,” Robertson said. “I describe it as bird herding.

“While it’s easy pickings here for a meal, the birds can find plenty of wild blackberries and seeds elsewhere to eat,” he added.

All the birds Robertson uses in his work were hatched in captivity. He has 22 raptors.

The Aplomado falcon is a small to medium-sized bird that hunts into the bushes, working to chase finches and robins out of the fruit rows. The Barbary x Saker hybrid falcon is larger and flies above the crop. Other birds can see it from miles away. It is good at turning away starlings and pigeons, which invade fields and orchards from above.

“The falcons are in charge,” Robertson said. “I’m here to steer them in the right direction and to reward them with meat tidbits when they do good.”