Rural Delivery - Series Two, Episode 10

Television (Full Length Episode) – 2006

This episode of 'all things rural' series Rural Delivery takes place in the Marlborough region. There's a visit to the Marlborough-based Falcons for Grapes project, nurturing the native falcon (kārearea) population in what's labelled a 'win-win' for local vineyards and conservation. Blenheim-based farmers David and Edward Ensor talk about how they're slowly moving their sheep and beef operations into grape growing and how water supply impacts their future plans. There's also an interview with Mark Aspin who discusses how a national worm strategy aims to fight New Zealand's most common animal health problem.

These falcons will only eat a couple of birds themselves per day so they're not going to annihilate vast amounts of birds but we hope that they'll be active in the vineyard, frightening birds so the birds won't be so able to settle down into a feeding pattern, that they'll have to be constantly aware that there's a predator in the area.
– Colin Wynn from Falcons for Grapes on the purpose behind the scheme