Pigeon whistles - Do they really scare hawks?

March 1, 2009

I read that pigeon whistles (flutes) are a very old tradition that originated in Beijing, China. The whistles are attached to the center tail feathers of the bird and that it is recommend that you fly at least nine birds with the flutes to help deter and scare the hawks away from your birds.

Are there any fanciers out there that use whistles and do they really work? Are they something you can attach to your birds whilst on training flights and remove for racing or does it damage the centre feathers?

I came across an old newspaper clip on the net - thought some may be interested in it.

greenlands · March 1, 2009

In my experience they DO NOT work,used them some 15/20 years ago, at that time they were called Bali Bells.They are not as big as the ones in the photo's,i have some amongst the rubbish you collect over the years.Lindsay C

March 1, 2009

Wast of time and effort. There have been loads of theories aimed at frightening hawks and falcons. Most do not work. Some work for a short time and then are a wast of effort. Bali bells and whistles have the effect of creating wind resistence which is very helpful to the bird of prey when the novelty wears off. They slow the pigeons making them easier to catch. Birds of prey are very inteligent creatures and although they will stick to what is familiar to them most of the time, they learn. If they are hungry they learn fast. One fellow runs around saying that certain colours are more likely to give protection than others. It is probable that providing there is plenty of prey about that the falcons would prefer to stick to what they know. That is colours of pigeons and species of prey. However, they very quickly adapt to anything edible when they need to. Rockets work. That is if the neighbours don't object. I am experimenting with laser lights. The idea is to distract the falcon by taking advantage of the fact that they have wonderful eyesight which I suspect is very sensitive. We shall see. If anyone knows where I can get a high powered laser light, please let me know.