DETROIT (WXYZ) — A fake call but real birds. It's an effective combination on full display in downtown Detroit.
At 16 years old, Paul Thomas found his love for falconry. He soon turned his hobby into his job and then founded his company ScAir Force Falconry & Bird Abatement.
Based near Lansing, he and his wife Terese Thomas have been hired by Bedrock Detroit to keep away pesky pigeons and starlings and their poop, all to keep downtown clean before NFL fans arrive for the draft.
"They (birds) like these buildings. They're great structures for them," Paul Thomas said. "But not great for the cities with all the bird poop they have to contend with.”
He says roughly 10,000 of those birds are descending into downtown, building nests and laying eggs along buildings.
“Now as we're going into spring, they're looking for nesting. That's why they're going onto the buildings,” Paul Thomas said. "When it's cold and windy, they like these buildings; they block the wind.”
And that’s where the Thomas family comes in. Paul and Terese Thomas use everything including laser beams, automated bird calls and, of course, their saker falcon Yeti and Harris's hawk Ruth. The team scares birds off buildings at dusk before they settle in for the night.
“If we can put them off of the buildings we're in charge of at dusk and keep them off until dark, that's 10 to 12 hours where they’re not just sitting there pooping on the building all night," Paul Thomas said.
Five days a week for 30 weeks through the draft, the couple and their birds will be on patrol keeping their eyes peeled. They even go on rooftops to get closer to the birds. The hawk and falcon aren’t let loose to fly downtown with the crowds, but all they have to do is flap their wings to make their presence known to their prey.
“It strikes fear into their heart," Paul Thomas said of the pigeons and starlings. "They see that silhouette and know that's death if it gets their hands on them.”
It's teamwork from more Michiganders hard at work, making sure the city they love shines on the national stage.
“We're really excited to get tied into the draft and all that stuff. It’s an exciting thing to happen to this town,” Thomas said. "We love this city and love this state, so it’s fun to be apart of all that.”
