SINGAPORE - Singapore's shopping street Orchard Road is thinking of using trained hawks to scare off smaller birds that have been a nuisance to the retailers and shoppers, local daily Straits Times reported on Wednesday.

The birds have been a nuisance since 2008 when a car park was redeveloped and trees at the site removed.

They used to roost there but have moved to the area near shopping malls on the Orchard Road.

Some malls tried to project high-pitched sounds as a scare tactic a few weeks ago but it did not work.

The Orchard Road Business Association, which is made up of 60 businesses in the shopping district, is working with Wildlife Reserves Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board on the idea of using trained hawks to frighten off birds such as mynahs and starlings.

Yong Ding Li, chairman of the South-east Asian Biodiversity Society, said there are an estimated 2,000 to 5,000 birds roosting in the Orchard Road area at dusk.

People have complained about the noise the birds make and the droppings they leave on cars, pedestrian walkways and even shoppers' heads.

Bird training and the acclimatization of hawks to urban areas is under way.

The plan is to release the hawks in the area for short periods of time to chase away the birds before they go back to their handlers.

"The idea is to scare the birds away. At the end of the day, we want the pleasant shopping experience to return to the Orchard Road," said Steven Goh, executive director of the Orchard Road Business Association.