ALLSOPP HELIKITES LIMITED

A Helikite is a unique combination of a kite and a balloon that flies up to 200 feet high and scares bird pests by mimicking the flight of a predatory bird. It's success at doing this has made it probably the most powerful birdscarer available to the agricultural and pest control industries. Its use differs in town and countryside in both its likely performance and its method of deployment.
The Vigliante Helikite was originally designed for use in crops and it is simple to fill a balloon with helium, push it into the Helikite, attach its line and stake it out in the field. It will easily relaunch itself after any rainfall is over and will control birds over large areas i.e. 15 to 20 acres against rooks and crows and 20 to 25 acres against pigeons. Against migratory geese it can control up to 50 acres.
Habituation is minimal even after many months because the birds are imbued with powerful anti-predatory instincts and there is generally some other food available elsewhere. The area controlled may reduce slightly during one or two weeks in mid-February but interestingly the larger area is reinstated as the weather warms up even with the same birds. They don't seem to learn but just pit one instinct (the fear of hawks) against the other (the fear of starving) and the area covered is a direct result of this. Obviously the food value of the crop is relevant too. The predictability is such that Allsopp Helikites have a list of all the major bird problems and the likely area controlled against wild birds. As it is probably the only reliable scarer of crows and rooks the Vigilante Helikite is of major importance to British agriculture and this is reflected in very strong sales. Heron and cormorants on fish farms are also particularly easy to scare.
The second situation likely to require a Vigilante Helikite is the semi-urban, such as farm buildings, silage clamps, feedlots and landfill sites. Here, there is an interesting combination of high food value and some wild and some semi-tame birds. Deployment of the Helikite may be complicated by the buildings or the possibility of the Helikite landing amongst animals if it is brought down by rain. Wild birds such as rooks on silage clamps can be scared from some distance away, so simply flying a Helikite from a nearby filed is sufficient. For rooks on outdoor pigs it will be useful to fly the Helikite from the top of a pole 12 to 15 metres high, such as a scaffolding pole, so it cannot touch the ground in the rain. This technique is also useful above buildings or on fish farms. Although rooks exhibit some ability to learn from each other, most birds obtain almost all their behaviour from layers of instincts. If a population of birds is tame it is because over generations it has been the boldest birds that bred most offspring and so the genetic make-up of the population is predisposed to ignore potential predators in favour of exploiting unnatural food sources. In other words their instincts have been altered to suit the circumstances. Funnily enough the common trait of rooks ignoring propane bangers is probably not an example of them overcoming instinct but rather the result of bangers not eliciting an instinctive response in the first place as a bang is not a natural sound leading to imminent danger.
In towns the Lightweight Helikite is more suitable as it can fly even better than the Vigilante Helikite in the difficult wind conditions common around buildings. It is useful flown from roofs against roosting pigeons, perhaps with a kite pole, in parks against Canada geese or starlings, or operated by hand to deter any birds from factories and abattoirs. The control is normally very good unless the birds are very tame due to them having acquired a food supply near people for some time previously. Where Helikites cannot help is with birds roosting inside buildings because the Helikite cannot get above the birds to elicit from them the fear of a hovering hawk. It is the height and the movement which seems to scare the birds. Starling roosts are normally easy to shift as long as they are not being fed nearby. The Helikite is the preferred option for this work due to its silent nature. Rookeries can also be moved with co-operation form the residents, and on landfill sites Helikites are very popular and effective at scaring seagulls and rooks. Most large waste management companies in the UK regularly rely on the Vigilante Helikite to help keep the site within the health and safety regulations regarding scavenging birds.