Migratory bird program creates sustainable method for maintaining rooftop units

When gulls flock to rooftops to build their nests, problems can arise for equipment and technicians. The natural solution? Raptors to the rescue.

A public enterprise client was struggling to find a biodiversity solution to protect both technicians and migratory birds that were nesting on its buildings’ rooftops. As the chosen facilities management provider for the client, CBRE worked in collaboration with operations, procurement and a local, female-owned third-party vendor to develop and implement a program to “hire” raptors to encourage gulls away from buildings and back to coastal lands and waters.

Glaucous-winged gulls are protected as migratory birds in North America, but during nesting periods, they can become aggressive. Technicians are already at risk while working at heights on rooftops, and the added stress of aggressive gulls can cause employees to feel unsafe. The client made the safety of CBRE and their vendors a top priority to create a safe and efficient working environment for all. The program uses trained raptors to deter the gulls from diving and nesting on building rooftops, pushing them towards their natural habitat – ultimately creating the best outcome for the birds, safety for the technicians, and protection for the rooftop assets. Because gulls are extremely intelligent birds, more traditional methods like plastic owls, bird wires or spikes aren’t effective deterrents. Consequently, the program schedule is set at random throughout the week to keep the migratory birds from becoming familiar with rotation.

The ultimate goal of the program is the protection of nature and humans. The hawks’ presence is enough to prevent nesting and there is no chasing of, or harm to, the gulls themselves. Because the client saw so much benefit from the program, it was expanded to 11 buildings throughout Canada. Other clients are also seeing the undeniable value of this solution. A company in the Energy & Resources sector was experiencing a similar problem with gulls during nesting season. To keep their technicians and the wildlife safe, the client partnered with CBRE and a third party to bring hawks onto properties to patrol rooftops.

But gulls aren’t the only migratory birds impacted by CBRE operations. Canadian geese are also protected migratory birds and are at risk, either by nesting too close to humans or nesting too high for their young to survive leaving the nest. Geese too can be aggressive during the nesting season, so CBRE piloted a program with the same client using the same principle employed with the hawks and gulls by using dogs to encourage nesting geese to find more natural habitats away from humans. Dogs are walked around the surrounding areas outside of facilities to discourage geese from choosing that location to nest. But when geese do nest at a CBRE building, CBRE is committed to protecting the next generation of these migratory birds. Canadian geese don’t learn to fly before they leave the nest, instead the goslings jump from the nest location to follow their parents to water. Nests over three stories high put goslings in danger. CBRE’s Environmental Manager and onsite technicians work together with local wildlife vendors to safely transport these goslings located high on client buildings.

The public enterprise company wanted to protect the built and natural environments, while staying cost-conscious. Last year, the overall Environment Program was responsible for over $5M in avoided costs from regulatory fines and other operational expenses. Additional outcomes include:

• Enhanced indoor air quality
  Rooftop cooling units that could not be maintained during summer months because of the gull hazard to technicians are now operational and provide cooling to the occupants.
  
• Safer working conditions and experience
  Employees are excited to see their company protect the environment and have a better workplace experience because of better building infrastructure.  
  
• Significant reduced human-gull interaction
  The impact of operations across these facilities is having less and less interaction with the surrounding gull population. The wildlife management plan estimates a 75% decrease in interactions by 2030; by the end of 2023, the team anticipates close to 80% reduction. There have also been zero human-gull incidents during the use of the program.