Students' solution for bird nest fires a 'real game changer' for farmers

A group of Dunedin high school students have come up with an innovative solution for a $1 million problem facing farmers.

The Year 13 St Hilda's Collegiate students have created a strobe light device that can be placed under the hood of tractors and other farm vehicles or machinery to deter nesting birds.

It's not just tractors either - FMG has seen nests cause fires in quad bikes, side-by-sides, cars, utes and other machinery as well.

Alia Ryan, along with fellow students Neve Crossan, Bonnie Turner and Lucia Russell created No Nest Technology through the Young Enterprise Scheme.

Ryan said as they came from rural backgrounds, birds nesting in machinery was a familiar issue they had "first-hand experience" with and wanted to solve.

"We've had a lot of friends and like family friends [had] close calls with fires in tractors and birds nesting."

She said the strobe light device was designed and built with help from Zoom Tech Ltd director Richard Cathro - she also thanked their teacher for her support.

"A lot of people we've gotten in contact with asking how they're going, there's been no birds and they've been saying it's been a real game changer and they want it in every one of their machines.

"It feels pretty cool and special because there's no lights that are actually on the market for it yet so to be able to introduce it and for everyone to be so keen ... has been a really cool experience, like help the farmers with something that's such a big problem for them."

Ryan said they had 25 devices out with different farmers across the region and had received good feedback. They hoped to carry on with the business after school.

She said the group was surprised to take out the 2026 Young Enterprise Otago Company of the Year award earlier this week and they'll be heading to Wellington to represent Otago at the national Young Enterprise Scheme final in December.

FMG's loss prevention manager Abby France said starling birds - whose breeding season runs from September to December - are "incredibly resourceful" when it comes to building nests, particularly during this time when there's an abundance of dry grass.

"They can squeeze into surprisingly small spaces and build a nest much faster than people expect ... a bird can build a nest in the time it takes you to stop for smoko or have a cup of tea."

She said it meant farmers should check the bonnet - "stop and pop" - every time before starting work. It was also worth considering leaving the bonnet up when machinery is parked to help discourage birds from nesting.