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Old 4th Mar 2011, 12:07
  #49 (permalink)  
Canuckbirdstrike
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Canada
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The challenge with any system to warn and deter birds is habituation. If you use noise or other harassing techniques eventually the birds learn or habituate to the fact that this noise is not a threat, just a nuisance. Much like the "snake oil" salesmen of the previous century there are many manufacturer's with wild claims on various sound based systems deterring birds. There is no data from reputable scientific studies to back these claims.

To illustrate how clever birds are at figuring this out. I sat one day in the line up for takeoff at a major airport that used propane cannons that automatically rotated and fired to scare birds. I watched a seagull sitting on the end of the cannon riding back and forth as it moved. Then it would fly off, let the cannon activate and then fly back to his perch and enjoy the view and look for food. I took the time to visit with the wildlife control personnel at this airport and watch the event up close. The bird was smart enough to hear the propane valve open to let the fuel into the chamber and realize that is what triggered the noise. He just learned to work the system.

Deterring birds at airports is hard work. It is guerrilla warfare and you have to constantly outsmart your enemy and change tactics. The problem is that in our instant, virtual world everyone wants a one stop automatic solution. For birds and wildlife there is not one.

So putting noise makers on aircraft will not work. First from the wildlife perspective and secondly for the fact that with aircraft speeds the sound will not reach the birds in sufficient time.

Encounters with birds above 1,000 ft AGL are not within the area where ground based strategies will work in general. In some cases if you can remove an attractant (food or shelter) then the flight path may get modified, but this is a long term and challenging activity. At altitude detection and avoidance is the strategy. Significant work has been and continues to be done with avian radar system that have species detection and bird flight path prediction capabilities. The technology is being used in trials at some airports, but it is expensive and to date no one has bothered to consult with the aviation industry in a meaningful way on how we would use this technology in practice.
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