Officials are hoping falcons will chase away the hordes of sea gulls who have been haunting landfills in Orange County, Calif.

They should be flocking to the ocean, but every day thousands of sea
gulls fly to the Orange county's Prima landfill. Their droppings aren't
just a nuisance to employees; they're a potential source of bacterial
contamination.

But now, the Orange county has added four flying weapons to its
payroll - trained falcons that will take turns patrolling the skies in
an attempt to scare the sea gulls away.

After falcons helped to solve similar bird problems at airport
runways and military bases, Orange County officials decided to invest
,000 to see if they could be an protect the airspace over the landfill.

Falconer Dean Krakuer says the mere presence of the predatory birds
will eventually convince the sea gulls to move elsewhere.

Since the falcons are trained to only target the lure, they won't
attack the other birds. Over time, county officials hope, the sea gulls
will begin to view the landfill as the falcons' territory.

As part of the pilot project, the falcons will be flying five days a
week for the next five months.