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Old 10th October 2004 | 19:55
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Canuckbirdstrike
 
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 141
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From: Canada
On the subject of pulse lights or flashing lights a study was done back in the 90's by the Transportation Development Center (the research arm of Transport Canada) and the preliminary results showed only very minor physiological responses from birds in cages areas to flashing lights. The results were so poor that Phase II of the project (use of lights and testings with aircraft) was cancelled.

According to colleagues that I work with that are knowledgeable bird biologists, bird visual sensing and processing of these pulsing lights does not invoke a fear response. In fact in many birds and mammals lights will invoke a "freezing' response. Birds and mammals vision is more adapted to detecting movement than recognition of particular subjects, hence when confronted many will freeze believing that they will not be seen.

To my knowledge there is no scientific evidence that indicates that flashing aircraft lights make an aircraft more visible to birds and/or causes them to move out of an aircraft path.

Richard
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