There are many useful techniques that airfields can employ to prevent bird strikes. Dave shared some of the most common techniques used.
“There are several techniques airports can use to manage the risk. The Air Force, which is where my experience comes from was way on top of this. The Air Force has published excellent guidance on managing the risk for a long time. I'm not a scientist myself, but I learned much of what I know from people who are scientists. One thing I've been taught is habitat management or habitat manipulation. That's one of the most important things you can do. It's at the heart of the matter. If you can get this right. Everything else I think becomes easier.
“Make your airfield habitat as unattractive as you can to birds and other wildlife. One important thing that the Air Force mandates is to maintain an intermediate grass fight, which is a grass height of 7 to 14 inches. And the FAA is pretty darn close at 6 to 12 inches. That's a recommended grass height by the FAA. That's the grass height that is thought to make flocking birds uncomfortable. Lots of birds flock, so they like to communicate with one another. The intermediate grass height just makes it a little bit difficult for them to do that. Another point is it makes it difficult for birds to see their predators, other bigger birds that are up there flying around trying to eat them. So they need to be continuously wary of their predators, as well as what they're looking for for their own food. They might leave your airfield and go to a golf course like 15 miles away, where the grass is mowed all the way down to the nub. And that 's just an excellent technique to dissuade birds from loafing under airfields. Maintain the grass that's uncomfortable to them.
“Another technique an airfield can use to guard against four legged wildlife, such as deer, coyotes, rabbits, and maybe even cows, the airfield should have a tall fence around it. One recommendation is an eight foot high chain link fence with three feet of angled barbed wire. That works pretty well in keeping most four legged wildlife away from your airfield. It should go right down into the concrete below it, no openings below it. Because even small wildlife, such as ground squirrels, rabbits, and so forth, if they can walk under the fence. If there 's an opening there, they in themselves are not a threat to aircraft, but they may be preyed on by large raptors such as a red tail hawk, which is a two and a half pound bird, they can cause a great deal of damage to a fast moving airplane.
“Airfield management can also scare birds away using scare cartridges. You just make a
big loud noise and create a Discomfort Zone for the birds that happened to be loafing around
on your airfield. Another technique is propane cannons. They produce the Discomfort Zone because they make pretty loud noises. Birds don't seem to like those. Falconry, some airfields use trained raptors like Falcons and hawks, which also create a Discomfort Zone for birds that may be on the airfield. And there are also man made drone raptors that look just like birds, radio controlled the drones. Depredation, you've always got that, but that's a last resort. I like wildlife and I don't want birds to get hit by airplanes and I don’t want airplanes to get damaged by birds. So it 's mutually beneficial.”
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