Bird Strikes, PETA, real solutions?
02-02-2009 | 05:02 PM
#11
Line Holder
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 50
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From: CJ 3 left
Bird Avoidance
A little less autopilot - more hand flying - and watching out for birds might help avoid some bird strikes. I have successfully avoided several birds during flight - night or day on approach - hand flying (VMC) - something to be said for the "old style" of actually flying the plane ! Yes - I have hit a few - one at 16,000 feet in a 727 - put a hole in the leading edge and actually felt the impact.
09-09-2013 | 10:22 AM
#13
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 13,843
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From: FAA 'Flight Check'
Bump.
Recent news report on the dangers of BASH around KDAL (Dallas Love).
What a problem.
Wild Birds, Big Jets and Potential Trouble at Dallas Love Field | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
No easy solution it would seem though the wildlife biologist seems to think there is an easy solution. I don't know - - - no lakes nears airports?
Recent news report on the dangers of BASH around KDAL (Dallas Love).
What a problem.
Wild Birds, Big Jets and Potential Trouble at Dallas Love Field | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
No easy solution it would seem though the wildlife biologist seems to think there is an easy solution. I don't know - - - no lakes nears airports?
Last edited by USMCFLYR; 09-09-2013 at 12:29 PM.
09-09-2013 | 12:26 PM
#14
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Joined: Oct 2007
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From: Sr. VP of button pushing
As usual, the lake was there before the airport. Blame the Signal Corps.
And the comment about mowing the yard:
In the old job I went to meetings with the DFW Wildlife Management Office. They said most smaller birds are prey and prefer a clear horizon. If you let the grass grow up 8-10 inches they won't hang out.
And the comment about mowing the yard:
In the old job I went to meetings with the DFW Wildlife Management Office. They said most smaller birds are prey and prefer a clear horizon. If you let the grass grow up 8-10 inches they won't hang out.
09-09-2013 | 12:59 PM
#16
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Joined: Mar 2008
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From: Curator at Static Display
The Air Force says there is an optimum height, which I don't know exactly, but is around 4-7 inches. Too short, and they find it easy for landing and eating bugs. Too tall, they can roost in matted-down areas.
The middle optmum height is too tall to easily land on, not tall enough to hide in, and difficult to forage for bugs (plants make it difficult to scratch for bugs and worms).
Then, they tend to avoid it.
About two years ago, we had a seasonal swarm of crane-flies, the things that look like giant mosquitos. Swallows were everywhere. I was in the RSU, and we called out the USDA bird-depredation guy.
They fired the bird cannons; no effect. Next, he blasted two of them with a shotgun.
Most of them left immediately.
Then, he did something fascinating. He zip-tied the two dead ones, and hung them on the wind-sensor tower...a jury-rigged scarecrow.
The birds were gone for a week. Word apparently spread fast among them.
Maybe they use twitter......
The middle optmum height is too tall to easily land on, not tall enough to hide in, and difficult to forage for bugs (plants make it difficult to scratch for bugs and worms).
Then, they tend to avoid it.
About two years ago, we had a seasonal swarm of crane-flies, the things that look like giant mosquitos. Swallows were everywhere. I was in the RSU, and we called out the USDA bird-depredation guy.
They fired the bird cannons; no effect. Next, he blasted two of them with a shotgun.
Most of them left immediately.
Then, he did something fascinating. He zip-tied the two dead ones, and hung them on the wind-sensor tower...a jury-rigged scarecrow.
The birds were gone for a week. Word apparently spread fast among them.
Maybe they use twitter......
09-10-2013 | 06:03 AM
#17
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 13,843
Likes: 1
From: FAA 'Flight Check'
Looks like it is the season for news articles on bird strikes!
Here is another news story detailing efforts at KSEA.
It seems that had I followed through with my one-time major of Wildlife Ecology that I may well have ended up working in aviation in any case
This particular article hits on some of the aspects other posters have highlighted from the earlier post. Efforts at controlling the grasses, shrubs, and other plants around the airport - sepcifically in dealing with birds.
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/ne...ote=1&p=549266
Here is another news story detailing efforts at KSEA.
It seems that had I followed through with my one-time major of Wildlife Ecology that I may well have ended up working in aviation in any case
This particular article hits on some of the aspects other posters have highlighted from the earlier post. Efforts at controlling the grasses, shrubs, and other plants around the airport - sepcifically in dealing with birds.
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/ne...ote=1&p=549266
Inside the airfield, pavement alternates with patches of grass, kept short to discourage rodents or insects that attract birds looking for food. The topsoil is low in nutrition, to prevent grass from growing tall in the first place. And the grass seeds themselves were chosen because they contain a fungus whose taste drives away waterfowl.
Around the airfield is a buffer zone of 2,646 acres. Plants with berries, nuts and seeds that attract birds are kept to a minimum. Instead, Sea-Tac plants shrubs with dense cover that discourages nesting. Goats were brought in to mow down the especially pervasive blackberries in 2008, but they were a little too good at their job; they ate all the desirable plants, too. Now the landscaping is done by humans.
Around the airfield is a buffer zone of 2,646 acres. Plants with berries, nuts and seeds that attract birds are kept to a minimum. Instead, Sea-Tac plants shrubs with dense cover that discourages nesting. Goats were brought in to mow down the especially pervasive blackberries in 2008, but they were a little too good at their job; they ate all the desirable plants, too. Now the landscaping is done by humans.
09-10-2013 | 06:17 AM
#18
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09-10-2013 | 11:06 AM
#19
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From: Sr. VP of button pushing
Pawnee at the glider club hit a buzzard a couple weeks ago. Buzzard definitely lost but it did a number on the wing.
