"LAX fends off feathered foes"

That headline in today's Los Angeles Time print edition rankles me to some extent, but I understand that birds cause problems at airports... and a copy editor's predilection for alliteration. The article's deck says "Birds of many sizes can bring down planes, so keeping them from airports is critical." (The head and deck are different in the online version.)

It's not just the big birds -- like the Canada Geese that brought down US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River -- that prompt concern. European Starlings received the nickname "bullets with wings."

Red-tailed Hawk, courtesy of Los Angeles Times

From the article:

Starlings also fly in the crowded skies above Los Angeles International Airport, a major concern of biologist Todd Pitlik, who works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His job is to control the wildlife populations at LAX, where more than 940 animal strikes involving commercial aircraft were reported between 1990 and 2008. About 4% of the collisions caused substantial damage to engines, wings and fuselages.

Pitlik's work isn't easy. LAX's 3,500 acres just east of the Pacific Ocean contain a menagerie of birds and small mammals that inhabit the drainage ditches, trees, dunes and grassy flats that surround the four runways of the nation's third-busiest airport.

Pitlik's work definitely isn't easy. Read the entire piece. Like he said, "It is important to minimize risk and liability, but it's also important to take care of the wildlife."

Kudos to South Bay Wildlife Rehab for its role. The nonprofit organization has taken in almost 40 hawks and falcons removed from three local airports, then released them elsewhere.

The Federal Aviation Administration opened a database of bird strike records yesterday. Will the data spur more innovation and efforts to reduce bird populations near airports?

From CNN.com

Nationwide, there were 98,328 reports of aircraft striking birds or other wildlife since January of 1990, although the actual numbers probably are far higher. The Federal Aviation Administration said only 20 percent of incidents are reported under the voluntary system of data collection.

The database shows strikes resulted in "substantial damage" to aircraft on about 3,000 occasions. Eleven people died in incidents relating to bird strikes.

The FAA initially fought to keep its database closed, saying publication of the details might discourage the industry from reporting information.

After it was made public, an airline industry organization was quick to say the data could wrongly lead some people to believe flying is unsafe.

Do you use one of the 10 airports that reported the highest number of strikes in the last 19 years?

Bird-strike database to debut on Friday

Perhaps some birders and ornithologists fall into the group of independent researchers, cited below, that wants to look at all available data.

From CNN.com:

After getting pelted by criticism from everyone from airline passengers to federal accident investigators, the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday reversed course and said it will publicly reveal its records on bird strikes.

The FAA said it will make its entire bird-strike database available on a public Web site on Friday, and is withdrawing a proposal to keep certain data confidential. The FAA had argued that protecting certain information, such as the names of airlines and airports involved in bird mishaps, would encourage airlines to participate in the voluntary reporting program.

But critics, including the National Transportation Safety Board, said the FAA's secrecy was misguided. In a letter Wednesday, the NTSB said it strongly disagreed with the plan to restrict public access to the data.

"The board believes that withholding such information ... would deny independent researchers the ability to examine all available factors in the database and would make valid comparisons among airports and among some other entities impossible," wrote Mark Rosenker, acting chairman of the NTSB.

Biologist manages birds at busy airport

Given the bird remains found in both engines of US Airways Flight 1549, known for its emergency landing on Jan. 15 in the Hudson River, there's been more discussion online and elsewhere about birds near airports.

On CNN.com today:

The next time you land safely in Seattle, you may want to thank Steve Osmek.

He's the wildlife biologist whose job is to make sure that birds don't get in the way of airplanes arriving and departing Seattle Tacoma International Airport.

Even though the bird strikes that recently caused US Airways Flight 1549 to lose both engines and land in New York's Hudson River has brought greater urgency to the issue, the danger presented by avian life is nothing new to Sea-Tac. The airport has had a wildlife biologist on staff since the 1970s, Osmek says, and annually spends about $250,000 on bird-removal operations.

Osmek and a crew of about 20 helpers use low-tech and high-tech methods to guard against bird strikes. First, they combat the environments that attract birds by planting foliage that prevents them from landing and by covering any nearby bodies of water with netting.

"The main thing is to make sure the birds are not used to coming here to the airport," Osmek says. "They don't get used to feeding here, nesting here and in turn coming into closer contact with the aircraft."

Osmek then describes the various methods that he and his crew use to keep the birds and the planes away from each other, including avian radar. It's pretty interesting.

The photo shows the damage to a Boeing 727 when it collided with a Common Loon. That species typically measures 26 inches to 36 inches long and weighs 88.3 to 215.3 ounces (5.5 to 13.5 pounds). Look at the damage it created!

Consider the potential damage created by a Canada Goose at 30 to 43 inches long and 105.9 to 317.7 ounces (6.6 to 19.8 pounds). That's the species often cited by wildlife agencies and biologists -- such as Osmek -- and airport authorities in discussions about controlling bird movements to reduce collisions.