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Birdstrike Risk Management at a Military Airfield Using Falconer Activity

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Birdstrike Risk Management at a Military Airfield Using Falconer Activity Polish J. of Environ. Stud. Vol. 20, No. 3 (2011), 683-690 Original Research Birdstrike Risk Management at a Military Airfield Using Falconer Activity Ignacy Kitowski1, Grzegorz Grzywaczewski1, Janusz Ćwiklak2, Marek Grzegorzewski2, Stefan Krop2 1Department of Zoology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13, 20-950 Lublin, Poland 2Air Force Academy, Dywizjonu 303/ 12, 08-521 Dęblin, Poland Received: 20 July 2010 Accepted: 4 January 2011 Abstract Collisions between birds and aircraft have resulted in loss of human lives and aircraft. We evaluate the efficacy of a falconer’s activity at deterring birds from Dęblin Military Airfield in Eastern Poland. The activ- ity of a falconer using trained raptors (goshawk Accipiter gentilis, saker Falco cherrug, and peregrine Falco peregrinus) resulted in a reduction in the total number of birds in the airfield, in comparison with the control period. The greatest reduction in the number of birds in the airfield under influence of the trained raptors’ action was recorded for: European starlings, black-headed gulls, and rooks. We found a significant negative correlation of total bird numbers with the number of days after the beginning of the falconer’s activity. The significant trends in reduction of the number of birds observed at the airfield was indicated for many studied species, including: domestic pigeons, lapwings, and jackdaws. The effectiveness of the falconer in deterring birds was greater in the spring-summer period, in comparison with the autumn-winter period. Drawbacks of the falconry programs are discussed. Keywords: birdstrike, risk management, air traffic safety, falconry, Poland Introduction for example, in precautionary delays, and must be consid- ered in terms of economic losses estimated at US $1.2 bil- Birds are a serious threat to air traffic, as their presence lion a year [5]. In such a situation, a significant role is attrib- at airfields poses a risk of collision with aircraft. Birds are uted to active and effective methods of management of the attracted to airfields primarily by their food sources, open presence of birds at airfields. landscape, and the possibilities of nesting and the presence More frequently, methods based on sound biological of resting places [1-3]. Collisions between birds and aircraft principles resulting from the knowledge of ecology and can have catastrophic consequences and have resulted in bird behavior are applied. One such method is the use of loss of human lives and aircraft. Military losses are difficult falconer activity [1, 6, 7]. Falconry, which provides positive to estimate, because in many cases they are kept secret, but publicity and other unique attributes, can have an important there have been 283 military aircraft lost and 141 deaths role in integrated bird management at airfields. Still, little is recorded in a limited number of Western countries from known about the overall effectiveness of raptors in bird which data were available for the period 1959-99 [4]. deterrence when they are used independently [7, 8]. Fortunately, most birdstrikes are far less severe and the The aim of our work was the quantification of effec- majority result in no damage whatsoever to the aircraft. Yet tiveness of falconer activity in the Dęblin Military Airfield even they have their economical consequences and result, (DMA) in eastern Poland, which for years has been one of the most threatened by collisions among military airfields *e-mail: [email protected] in Poland. 684 Kitowski I., et al. Study Area and Methods pigeons Columba livia, wood pigeons Columba palumbus, fieldfares Turdus pilaris, white storks Ciconia ciconia, buz- DMA (51º33’N, 21º53’E, eastern Poland) was chosen zards Buteo buteo, kestrels Falco tinnunculus, and black- for study because for years it has been characterized by a headed gulls Larus ridibundus. Changes in numbers under high frequency of collisions of birds with aircraft, and sev- the influence of the falconer were also subject to analysis eral very serious collisions have occurred there [9]. The within six systematic avian families to which the target area of the airfield is a rectangle with a length of about 4.5 species belonged. The first reason for such a choice of the km and width of about 1.5 km. In the further vicinity are the considered species accounted for more than ¾ of the total forks of the Wieprz and Wisła rivers, which results in the number of birds observed in the airfield studied [10]. The area of the airfield being a considerably warm area, guar- second reason was that they pose a real threat in this airfield anteeing year-round exploitation of the runway. Through all and others in Central Europe [11-13]. of summer, the grassy part of DMA is mowed. The area is Trends in changes in the number of birds were ascer- characterized by an ample infrastructure responsible for tained by Pearson moment product correlations. The num- execution of air traffic procedure from the airfield in the ber of birds during the two study periods were compared form of beacons, photocells, lighting and navigational with the Mann-Whitney U test or the Student’s t test, lamps, main runway curb signs, radar, critical area signs, depending on the data distribution [14]. flags, masts, and antennas. Several dozen training airplanes of the Iskra class and several helicopters used for training by the Air Force Academy are stationed at DMA. Results In the first period of studies, from September 1, 2007 to August 31, 2008, 25 bird counts were conducted in a tran- Total Number of Individual Birds and Total sectional method in the entire DMA area. The bird counts Number of Species of Birds Observed were conducted every two weeks, averaging 2.1 counts per in the Airfield month. During the counting, all birds present at the airfield were recorded in their position at the moment they were In the period before introducing the falconer in the air- noticed, both those feeding in the area of the airfield and field, an average of 816.4±398.7 (n=25) birds were those flying by. The positions of the birds noted for the first observed. During the period of the falconer’s work, the time were drawn on maps of 1:10,000. The first period of number of birds decreased to 517.6±328.5 individuals studies will further be referred to as the control period. (n=26). The differences proved to be highly significant sta- During the second period of studies (September 1, 2008 tistically (Student’s t=2.926, df=49, p=0.0052). Yet such sta- – August 31, 2009), 26 bird counts were conducted using the tistical differences were not found when comparing the method mentioned above, which gave 2.2 counts per month. number of species of birds present in the airfield during the However, at that time, in contrast with the control period, a control period and during the study period when the falcon- licensed falconer was employed at the airfield. The falconer er was present (Student’s t=1.65, df=49, p=0.105), despite a worked five days per week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. In field noticeable change: 23.4±8.6 (n=25) vs. 19.9±6.3 (n=26). work, he alternated used three individual diurnal raptors dur- When comparing the average number of birds ing the day: an adult goshawk, Accipiter gentilis, a saker (645.2±187.1 ind., n=10) recorded in the area of DMA for Falco cherrug, and a peregrine Falco peregrinus. Of these, autumn and winter during the control period, with the aver- the goshawk was always used to deter birds in the morning, age number for autumn and winter (during the out-of- the saker at midday, and the peregrine in the afternoon and breeding period of birds) in the period of the falconer’s evening. The falconer used a vehicle to change position work in the airfield (624.9±353.6 ind., n=15), no statistical- often. ly significant differences were found (Student’s t = 0.166, The falconer was not informed about the course of the df=23, p=0.879). Such differences were shown, however transect by which the observers moved during the counting, (Student’s t=3.662, df=24, p=0.0012), when comparing the nor of the evaluation of his work. At the time of the studies, average numbers of birds for spring and summer (during both during the control period and when the falconer the breeding period of birds), during the period when the worked in the airfield, there were practically no other meth- falconer was not present in the airfield (930.5±463.0 ind., ods used in deterring birds, except for a few short sessions n=15), with the average number during the period when he of using one small gas cannon, whose location was did work there (371.2±232.0 ind., n=11). unchanged for years (placed at the southwest end of the air- The total number of species of birds recorded in the air- field). A strongly manifested process of habituation to the field during observations conducted in autumn and winter cannon was observed by the birds, mainly corvids Corvidae during the control period (15.6±5.3, n=10) was also com- (sitting on the casing and feeding next to it). pared with the data from the second period (8.0±6.4 With the purpose of evaluating the falconer’s work, a species, n=15). Despite the decrease in the number of more in-depth analysis of the information collected in the species in the airfield, significant differences were not airfield was conducted with regard to 12 species of birds: found (Student’s t test =-0.977, df=23, p=0.338).
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