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Over the years, bird
strikes have occurred on SA Air Force aircraft, either
damaging landing gear, forward ailerons, cockpit windows and
mainly engines.
The SAAF Environmental Services team has been tasked to
reduce these occurrences between aircraft and birds. Several
methods such as habitat change, deterrent actions and
natural predators are used.
Bird strike damage to South African Air Force aircraft
Picture : Christo Crous
Habitat
change: The grass on runways is kept at a height
of 300mm in line with SAAF policy. This lessens specific
bird population habitats for plovers and guinea fowl as
these birds are prey species and feel uncomfortable in the
longer grass, as they cannot see if a predator is close by.
Large wooded areas have also been removed near runways and
therefore lessen guinea fowl nesting sites such as at AFB
Waterkloof.
Deterrent actions:
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Prism mirrors are used
to reflect the sunlight, thus confusing birds.
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Pneumatic mechanisms,
randomly blowing air into plastic pipes, have also been
placed along runways to scare off guinea fowl that may
be feeding amongst the longer grass.
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Culling is another
option with some success. Birds are regularly culled
with shotguns. The birds do however become used to the
shot distance, i.e. 40-50 meters. Still they associate
the shot as a predator and the mere sight of these
personnel can move them off for some distance.
Natural predators: Warthog is an aviation safety
problem at AFB Hoedspruit and AFB Makhado for this reason
cheetahs were released at these bases. Caracals (more
commonly known as ‘rooikatte’) were released at AFB
Waterkloof and Hoedspruit, to target plovers and guinea
fowl. These animals are very shy and tend to remain off the
runway area during the daytime and target only the larger of
the two species as well as other small non-target species.
For the remainder, they tend to spend time in the thicker
bush; away from runway complexes and so may have an indirect
impact on nesting areas of bird populations.
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Properly identifying the bird species that damage aircraft
In order to assist the
Environmental Services Section to target its efforts on the
birds that are causing an aviation safety problem, SAAF
personnel should be familiar with the birds we share our
airspace with. Bird movements and other information can then
be tallied from this. The following species of bird are at
present, causing the majority of damage:
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Blacksmith Plover
Weighing about 160 grams. Solitary or in pairs,
loose flocks of about 20. Forages in short
grass. Eats insects and worms
Problem period:
This species is highly territorial and picks an
area on the runway where they pair off, however
they flock from June to September and can become
a problem, as their density appears to become
more..
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Helmeted Guinea fowl
Weighing 1352 grams, about the size of a
chicken. In pairs or flocks that may number a
hundred or so. Forages in open ground, escape to
trees when frightened. Eats seeds, berries and
insects.
Problem period:
These birds flock from October to April. The
majority of damage caused by this bird is done
to helicopters.
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Crowned Plover
Weighing about 167 grams. Solitary or in pairs,
loose flocks of about 40. Forages occur. Their
habitat is short dry grassland where they eat
insects and worms. Commutes in flocks between
feeding areas.
These birds have been observed “surfing” in
front of large jet aircraft. The slight change
in thrust may cause these birds to be ingested
in engines.
Problem period:
This species is highly territorial and picks an
area on the runway where they pair off, however
they flock from June to September. Commutes in
flocks between feeding areas.
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Black Korhaan
Weighing about 878 grams. Solitary or in pairs.
Forages in open dry grassland. Eats insects and
seeds. Pairs from October to December.
Problem period:
Throughout the year as these birds are highly
territorial and do not flock. Their sheer weight
may cause tremendous damage however. |
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