Line of sight: simulated aerial avian predators can reduce problematic bird flyovers of airfields
Jeremy Nicholson
Managing Director
Bird Control Ireland Ltd
Littlebridge Inches
Cappoquin, County Waterford, Ireland P51H427
+353 872339330
jeremy@birdcontrol.ie
William O’Shea
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University College Cork
Cork, Ireland
Neil E. Coughlan
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University College Cork
Cork, Ireland
neil.coughlan.zoology@gmail.com
Thomas C. Kelly
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University College Cork
Cork, Ireland
t.kelly@ucc.ie
and
Neil Mitham
Bird Control Ireland Ltd
Littlebridge Inches
Cappoquin, County Waterford, Ireland P51H427
Abstract: Collisions between birds and aircraft (bird strikes) are a serious threat to air safety and represent a substantial economic cost to the global aviation industry. In recent years, the frequency of wood pigeons (Columba palumbus) flying over active runways has increased at airports in Ireland. Here, we examine the effectiveness of imitation hawk-kites as a means of excluding wood pigeons from sensitive airfield locations. Over 2 years, during August and September, we conducted control (no kites deployed) and treatment trials (kites deployed) at Casement Aerodrome, an active airfield of approximately 320 ha in County Dublin, Ireland and on agricultural farmland in County Waterford, Ireland, where the movement of large numbers of wood pigeons had previously been identified (≥50 birds per hour). Overall, we recorded a significant reduction in the mean (±SE) number of wood pigeons observed to successfully cross sites during deployment of the hawk-kites (70.69 ± 11.01 per hour), compared to control trials (178.37 ± 29.98 per hour). Although preliminary, our data suggest that hawk-kites can be used to provide an additional means of bird control to reduce instances of airfield flyovers by a problematic species. Nevertheless, further research is required to determine the reliability of hawk-kites under a range of context-dependencies, such as airfield location, size surrounding land-use, seasonality, and weather conditions.
Jeremy Nicholson
Jeremy Nicholson, DipFieldEcology, Managing Director, Bird Control Ireland Ltd 2000. The company operates a full time Bird Control Unit at Casement Military Aerodrome, has overall responsibility for the strategic implementation of the Wildlife Control Program. He has designed, managed an extensive range of bird/wildlife control programs to include aviation, pharmaceutical, building FM & off shore. Jeremy conducts audits of wildlife control programs at airports throughout Europe and North Africa for Europe’s largest airline. Resulting reports are used to improve/enhance their programs. He is a member of the Irish National Bird Hazard Committee and has presented on bird control topics at conferences in Europe and North America. He is a guest lecturer School of Biological Earth and Environmental Science, University College Cork, Ireland, and has initiated several wildlife research programs.