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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Migratory birds shooed away by drone, fireworks, lasers

In this Dec. 14, 2016, photo, a Phoenix Wailer bird deterrent sits on the bank of the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Mont. (Matt Volz / Associated Press)
Associated Press

BUTTE, Mont. – Montana Resources and Atlantic Richfield Co.’s growing arsenal of migratory bird tools were recently put to use to scare about 1,100 birds off of the Berkeley Pit.

The Montana Standard reported that the migratory birds landed on Friday and were scared off by a battery powered drone, fireworks, cannons and lasers.

The company scared off the birds in an effort to prevent another tragedy like the snow geese die-off of 2016.

Company spokesman Mark Thompson says there were no bird mortalities this weekend and by Sunday, all the birds were gone. The company began increasing observation of migratory birds in mid-August.