Airport Bird Control

Nimby-X - Bird Control Devices, Repellers and Aversions>

As air travel has increased so has the hazard of birds to the safety of air travel.  Airports are constantly trying to find effective means of controlling the bird populations in and around their facilities.  All airports, large or small, have shown serious interest in techniques and products that could control this hazard. Indeed, the need for effective bird control measures at airports and elsewhere has only increased over the years.

The ever-constant and growing level of air traffic, and the development of larger, faster, and quieter jet-engine aircraft, has raised the risk of serious bird strikes. In Canada, with the passing of the day-to-day management of airports from Transport Canada to private airport authorities, the authorities are assuming responsibility (and significant potential liability) for the control of the bird hazards at their airports. It is important that the airport authorities show due diligence by employing bird control measures that are appropriate for their particular situations. They must use appropriate products and techniques but it also is important to them that they know what is the most cost-effective approach.

NIMBY Airport Bird Control:

We know that no two airports are exactly alike in regard to their bird control problems. Each airfield is attractive to birds for a different variety of reasons, and the reasons vary with the species of birds involved and the time of year. Birds can be attracted to airports for food (e.g., earthworms, grasshoppers, and seeds), water, and shelter; and because the airports provide suitable nesting habitat or woods for overnight roosting. Each species of bird has its own behaviours, habitat preferences, preferred foods, loafing and roosting habits, flocking tendencies, and times of seasonal occurrence.

In addition to the above, certain features that are nearby or even at some distance from airfields can create different bird hazards to aircraft safety at each airport. For example, flightlines of birds between a nighttime roosting area and a daytime feeding area such as a landfill, can create serious hazards if the airport lies between these areas. Nevertheless, there are some characteristics and requirements of bird control that are common to most airports.