Flight Initiation Distance

Prey species have an instinctive recognition of predators. Along with this recognition is an intuition called the “Flight Initiation Distance (FID)”.

In birds, if a predator is seen a long or safe distance away it is ignored. If the predator approaches, the prey will flee when that predator passes a distance threshold, the FID.

If a hawk is 10 seconds away, and a bird has sanctuary in trees or bushes 5 seconds away, the prey bird will not startle until the hawk approaches the 5 second threshold. If your pest bird is hiding in bushes near your block, you will have to set your hawk kite closer to the bushes to stop the pests from feasting on the margins of your crop.

Loafing

Birds will settle or loaf in trees or on utility lines before attacking an orchard or vineyard. If the loafing site is on one side of the crop you are protecting, the hawk kite should be set closer to the loafing site, in order to disrupt their flight path. Birds will never attempt to fly past the hawk kite. This method will allow you to get better coverage with fewer kites.