Birds of prey protect wine grapes at England’s Rathfinny

Rathfinny Wine Estate has deployed birds of prey via a specialist falconry team to guard its English wine grapes as they ripen in the build-up to the 2025 harvest.

Falcons, hawks and even a ‘Chilean blue eagle’ are patrolling the skies above Rathfinny’s vineyards from dawn until dusk, the Sussex-based winery said.

It’s a trial to see if these trained birds of prey can protect English wine grapes by keeping hungry seagulls, pigeons and crows away from precious fruit – saving more than 300km of plastic netting that would normally cover vines.

Sarah Driver, Rathfinny co-founder and co-owner, said, ‘In the past we have used nets to try and protect our grapes from birds, but as a [certified] B Corp company we’re always trying to reduce our environmental impact.

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