TECH LOG Bird and wildlife control unit at Vaclav Havel Airport Prague, Czech Republic Supersonic rebirth complicates the industry goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 busy airports it should be continuous. Most UK airports have somebody out all the time. We have visited airports in other countries, however, where security drive the runway three times a day to disperse birds, without covering each aircraft movement. Weve even found, when scratching the surface, occasions when there isnt anyone authorised to drive the runway. Green lasers are a widely used tool in bird control: the animals perceive the laser light as a solid object, which triggers their natural instinct to flee. Jowett says this is preferential to the last resort: shooting. If youre shooting, the chances are that other birds will just come in to fill the void, so its better to manipulate the habitat so the surrounding area isnt so attractive. Some UK regulators, Natural England and NatureScot for example, are good at ensuring shooting is only used as a last resort; the airport should be doing everything it can before it applies to remove species in this way. There is a licence in England allowing an airport to shoot up to 18 different species of bird for air safety, with applications for additional species and thresholds if the airport demonstrates it has tried every non-lethal option beforehand, Jowett explains. In the UK were good at using international best-practice. If you find a dead bird on an airfield with no obvious cause of death, we treat it as a confirmed strike. Weve seen airports where dead birds on a runway are not recorded, which is a shame as each bit of data helps us better understand the risks faced. The risk to wildlife BMLs work is not just about controlling the risk to aviation; theres an important balance to be struck as wildlife is an important part of any environment, including airports. Were basically losing all the small birds, anything inhabiting farmland or eating insects. Theres a lot of habitat loss and farmland spraying. River sewage gets the publicity, but there are so many things affecting wildlife. Its death by a thousand cuts: if we take the Were here to help, not point fingers hedgerows out, then a birds winter food store disappears; if we spray insecticides then birds returning from Africa find that all their food has gone, Jowett says. Conversely, he adds, anything big thats hazardous to aircraft seems to be doing well. For example, egrets, once a continental airport hazard, are now present and breeding in the UK. Little egrets and cattle egrets are two-thirds the size of a heron [400g, 80cm wingspan] and the great white egret is heron-sized [1kg, 1.5m wingspan], says Jowett. Then theres the released species: white-tailed eagles only have one or two chicks a year and dont breed until theyre five to six years old, but they roam and are massive. Satellite tags show theyve 28 THE LOG Autumn 24 pp25-29 Birdstrikes.indd 28 13/11/2024 14:22