Tiny falcons are helping keep the food supply safe on cherry farms
Their presence appears to lower the risk of food-borne illnesses from pathogens.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/01/tiny-falcons-are-helping-keep-the-food-supply-safe-on-cherry-farms/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social
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An American kestrel. Credit: Jon G. Fuller/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
@arstechnica Having seen and spoken to falconers at work in cherry orchards (not "farms"), I can assure you that the primary reason they are used to keep birds out of orchards is to prevent birds from pecking at the fruit. Bird-pecked fruit is not sellable. Orchardists want the most fruit they can sell. Anyone telling you that it is to reduce the risk of foodborne illness is selling you a line of bullshit. The cherry packing process washes the fruit extensively. #FactsMatter #ag
amazing little birds but the population of the American Kestrel is falling off a cliff for unknown reasons
we must work to save them now or more than a few fruit farmers will be impacted by their loss... the biodiversity of the entire New World will take a major hit