‘It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.’
Aviation wildlife hazard management can be a little like this. In the past, for example, airports would often bring in pest controllers to control problem species. Their solution, more often than not, was extermination. Take the case of the airport which had a major issue with little corella strikes and called in pest control services. Large numbers of the birds were attracted to the site with seed, trapped and culled. However, corellas are smart (and long-lived) birds: the ones which were not culled now knew of a ready source of food and returned, as did the bird strike problem.
What is needed for a sustainable wildlife hazard management program?
A sustainable wildlife hazard management program (WHM) requires more than this single approach. The current regulations are vague about who should be involved in preparing a wildlife hazard management plan saying only that it must be ‘prepared in consultation with suitably qualified or experienced persons (refer Section 17.04 of the Part 139 MOS), including:
- an ornithologist, zoologist, biologist, ecologist or
- a person with demonstrated expertise in the management of wildlife hazards to aviation.
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Certainly, these individual experts are important, but for a truly effective and sustainable WHM program, an integrated approach incorporating expertise across multiple disciplines is crucial.
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To demonstrate, back to our airport and its corella problem. Thousands of little corellas flocked regularly to the airport: before the integrated management program began, for example, over 30,000 little corellas were observed roosting landside. The birds’ flyovers were primarily around dawn and dusk, creating a high strike risk at these times.
The airport engaged aviation wildlife management experts and embarked on a holistic program involving active (direct intervention with the risk species) and passive management (indirect intervention such as landscape management) strategies to manage these species, as well as bringing stakeholders together to combat the problems. Birds were actively monitored, as well as aviation movements, risks identified and a changing mix of dispersal methods (such as wildlife distress callers, sirens, pyrotechnics, firearms, and the stockman’s whip) was used to discourage foraging or roosting birds. The mix changed so the birds did not become habituated to one dispersal method.
Active management also included maintaining and training a healthy population of native bird species to control insects and grubs in the grassland, and to deter untrained native birds which could be struck by aircraft.
The active management extended to traditional feral animal control, using a range of techniques such as monitoring, shooting, baiting, cage-trapping and fumigation.
Adopting an ecology/habitat management approach brings a range of passive strategies which can be used to manage the wildlife risk species by focusing on the species’ preferred food, water and rest options. In the region of the airport in question, Aleppo pines (now a declared weed), for example, were commonly grown as wind breaks, but they are a substantial food source for little corellas. Research found that an average-sized Aleppo pine produced over 1000 times more seed than a large native hakea bush, a traditional natural food resource for little corellas. The Aleppo pines were removed, as well as other corella attractant weed species such as onion weed and replaced with a variety of native plant species found in the region, with no one species encouraged to grow in large numbers.
The expert team also suggested other passive management strategies, such as recommending suitable grass mixes, setting optimal grass heights and mowing schedules; and mapping weed species. Changed land management practices, such as watering at night and turning off lights, also made the environment less attractive to the corellas.
Since implementing this integrated wildlife management program, the airport has seen a decrease in the presence of risk species, and reported no damaging strikes, even during high-tempo aviation operations.
Engage with Our Expert Team
For an integrated wildlife management program at your site, reach out to our expert team:
- In Australia: 1300 409 927
- In the United States: 507 216 7672
- Or email contact@avisure.com
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