Solar-powered human-shaped bird deterrent can reduce bird damage by 70%

Every harvest season, the fields always echo with the popping of firecrackers going off here and there, "welcoming" the sparrows that farmers hate most. The Taitung Agricultural Improvement Station yesterday unveiled a "solar-powered human-shaped bird deterrent," which uses solar energy to drive a mechanical arm that shakes a wire strung with iron plates to make noise, mimicking a farmer shooing birds away, and can increase yields by 30%. But this high-tech scarecrow does not come cheap: the materials alone cost 15,000 yuan, and farmers said outright, "We can't even make ends meet with the harvest, how can we afford this?" Until the price of the "solar-powered human-shaped bird deterrent" comes down, it is still more practical to use traditional methods to shoo birds away.

High-tech scarecrow has a battery life of up to 15 days

July is not only the millet harvest season but also a thanksgiving festival for sparrows. Lin Hsueh-shih, director of the Taitung Agricultural Improvement Station, said that in the month before the millet harvest, if bird damage is not controlled, as much as 95% of the millet may end up in the sparrows' bellies. To keep out these uninvited diners, farmers hang ribbons and umbrellas of all sizes all over their fields, and the sound of firecrackers pops here and there, but manual scaring is still the most effective. However, calculated at one month and 13 hours of work per day, each hectare costs as much as 39,000 yuan, a considerable burden on both wallet and stamina.

The solar-powered human-shaped bird deterrent developed by the Taitung Agricultural Improvement Station uses solar panels to generate electricity, driving a mechanical arm that shakes a wire tied with iron plates, producing a sound of up to 120 decibels. At sunset, the solar panels also rest, saving power, and even consecutive rainy days are no worry, as the battery can last up to 15 days.

Wearing a raincoat, sunglasses and a hat, the bird deterrent looks just like a real person. Even the circuit board in its head is fitted with a spring so it can sway in the wind, and it can be dressed in different clothes, making it a veritable high-tech scarecrow.