David Kanellis

Field Supervisor / Master Falconer, USFWS Abatement Using Raptors permittee, USFWS Licensed Raptor Propagation permittee, Raptor Educator

I’m David Kanellis, Field Supervisor of Airborne Wildlife Control Service. I am a very hands-on type of person and I believe that our business model is the best there is for pigeons, so if you call our office and schedule a free evaluation, you’ll probably be seeing me in person very soon. I will talk your ear off if you let me and give you everything you need to know about what makes your property attractive to pigeons and how my team and I can help. If you have a rabbit or a coot problem we can most likely help with that, too. We also do commercial abetment using raptors for large commercial agriculture (even in other states), landfills, hotel/resort falconry experiences, and B.A.S.H. (bird aircraft strike hazard).

Here’s a little background about me so you can understand how I got to where I am today and why I know so much about this industry:

When I was a teenager I had pet racing homers and rolling pigeons. I started in falconry at the age of 16 and have been more than active in the sport for over 36 years now. I started trapping feral pigeons for food for my raptors even back when I had my very first bird. Not to brag, but in all these years I’ve gotten pretty darn good at it.

I moved to Las Vegas in 1991, settled down, raised two beautiful daughters, and for most of my adult life was a hard-working carpenter for residential and commercial developments. (There’s nothing like swinging a hammer outside in 120-degree heat to make you appreciate a desk job!) Anyway, after many years of working in the trenches, so to speak, I was promoted to a position in construction management. I spent a total of 25 years in construction in Las Vegas before moving on to develop a career working with birds of prey.

While living in Las Vegas I started a small raptor breeding project as a hobby and over the past 20 years have eventually ended up here, as the director of a federally recognized, national cooperative breeding organization with dozens of members (including zoos) and hundreds of endangered and exotic birds of prey from around the world.

Having access to so many exotic birds of prey and enjoying sharing my experience and birds with others made it easy for me to get into education. I spent several years in raptor education with my former company, “Airborne Raptors Unlimited,” and for three years performed in “Wings Over the Springs” free-flight bird of prey show at Springs Preserve.

In the off seasons while not doing bird shows, I started a side business, Airborne Abatement Services, to travel to Washington state for commercial agriculture abatement. I personally trained and used teams of birds of prey to protect thousands of acres of cherries, grapes, and blueberries from nuisance avian wildlife.

After several years of abatement out of state, I began looking for more opportunities to use my birds and my skills closer to home. This led me to a job with Nevada Pigeon Control. And as the saying goes, the rest is history!

You can read the rest of my story and more about the history of Airborne Wildlife Control Service here.