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MONDAY 21 SEPTEMBER, 2009 | |

Solar Powered Bird Scarer

by Energy Matters     

Keeping birds away from crops and other structures can be a real challenge; particularly when attempting to approach the problem in a humane way.
 
According to a recent study by the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, birds are surprisingly Australia's most destructive agricultural pest in monetary terms, even more so than wild dogs, mice, foxes and feral pigs combined. Birds are costing Aussie farmers more than $313 million a year.
 
Aside from crop damage, birds create problems in urban areas, mainly through nesting and defecation. Birds can also cause solar farm owners headaches as bird faeces can throw shadows over a panel, limiting their efficiency. Once baked on, bird poop can be hard to remove. 
 
This is where solar power can also come to the rescue for protecting solar farms, buildings and crops using bird scaring devices.  The mother of these devices is the Bird Gard Mega Blaster PRO from Chicago based Bird X. The intense sound output covers up to 30 acres (12 hectares). It's so loud that full volume needs to be engaged from quite a distance using the remote control.
 
The Bird Gard Mega Blaster PRO includes a 20-speaker tower, built-in 200 watt amplifier and is powered with a 40 watt solar panel and deep cycle battery. The device generates intermittent distress calls to create a "danger zone" that frighten birds away. The unit has a frequency range of 2,000 - 10,000 Hz and generates sound up to 125 decibels, louder than a chainsaw and about the same intensity as a rock concert or pneumatic drill. 
 

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