September 2007

Birds colliding into planes, referred to as ‘bired strikes’, cost the aviation industry up to $3 billion every year. Even worse, they have contributed to a number of fatal plane crashes: 24 people were killed in Alaska in a bird strike crash in 1995, and at least 68 people have died in similar incidents in the United States and Europe since then, according to the International Bird Strike Committee.
At almost every major airport around the world the traditional method of reducing the risk of collision is to cull birds which pose a risk to planes.

But Professor Chris Dickman and his colleague Chin-Liang Beh from the University’s Institute of Wildlife are working with Sydney Airport on a system of ecological controls to minimise the danger.
“Generally there can be between two to a dozen collisions every month at Sydney Airport,” said Professor Dickman. “Most involve small species, but medium sized, heavy bodied birds – crows, magpies those sorts of birds – can be more problematic. The worst case scenario would be a pelican. That would be bad news.”

Unfortunately, the habitat around Sydney Airport is particularly attractive to birds. “It is right on the coast and you have lots of sea birds using those waters,” he said. “There is also a lot of pretty good bushland in the surrounding areas, and there are freshwater wetlands nearby.”

Professor Dickman’s project team is using a holistic approach to control bird numbers. Smaller birds that keep close to the ground are encouraged, food sources are controlled, and grass is grown to a length of 20 centimetres. “Even just netting the banks of the local wetlands stops a lot of species coming in,” he said.

And the approach is working. “Last November, for the first time ever, there were no bird strikes reported,” he said.

The project is now in its second year, and already projections are available to tell researchers when to expect certain species of birds and what to do about it.

“We have been doing predictive modelling and have identified which species come in and when. So then you could make sure the schools of fish are dispersed, garbage cans are locked down, and airport staff advised to be extra vigilant.

“The exciting thing is that we are using ecological principles to their best effect. You often hear about applied ecology, but this is a really good opportunity to show how it can be applied.”
Professor Dickman and his team hope to present their findings overseas.

“We have an international model that is working well. As far as we can tell, there is not much else going on like this in the southern hemisphere. Instead of sending airport workers out to check what birds are around and then shooting them, we are trying to make sure that we take a more considered and proactive approach.”