The view of flocks of birds is enjoyed by many during the ongoing seasonal migration. But in Ajaccio City on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, it has become a nuisance.

The hovering of some 200,000 starlings forming waves above the city center has posed a public health threat as their droppings are poisonous and could transmit diseases to people. 

That's where Belgian falconer Ludwig Verschatse comes in. He released his falcons and buzzards into the sky – not to hunt the starlings down – but to chase them away from the city center to where they belong: their natural habitat on the Sanguinaires Islands.

And it took him about three years to train these birds of prey to heed his orders.

"For Hunt, it's a game, like a dog playing with a ball," said Verschatse referring to his three-year-old falcon.

To carry out their duty, the raptors take to the sky at dawn and dusk to keep the starlings from descending on the plane trees in the city center where they can hide and rest.

(All images via VCG)

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