10 Most Recently Updated Pages

Events

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:00:54 +1100

Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group Forum: 25 - 26 July, 2013

The AAWHG invites all members and industry stakeholders to our 7^th annual forum and industry collaboration. The exciting two day program will be hosted by the Queensland Museum in Brisbane and includes:

International and national case studies from both the civilian and military sectors;
Legal compliance aspects;
National airport land use safeguarding;
Updates in technology, training and research; and
The launch of the new Recommended Practices for wildlife hazard management in Australia.

An industry networking function and an airside tour of Brisbane Airport are also part of the full program.

At only $440 AUD (incl. GST) for the full event, this forum offers excellent value and places are limited. International attendance is also welcomed.

Please click on the event brochure for further information and details on how to register.

The AAWHG would also like to acknowledge and thank the many sponsors of this event including Qantas, Virgin Australia, PGG Wrightson Turf, Naturecall, Avisure, Robin, Rocket Man, Brisbane Airport and the Australian Airports Association.

International Events:

1st Pakistan Bird Strike, FOD prevention and Runway Safety Conference

Pakistan have hosted their 1st Pakistan Bird Strike, FOD prevention and Runway Safety Conference on the 21st and 22nd of January, 2013.

3rd Annual FOD and Bird Strike Conference - New Dehli, India

India is hosting their 3rd Annual FOD and Bird Strike Conference on the 20th and 21st of June 2013.

For more information and to register, please click on the above event links.

2011 Australian Airline Pilots Association Safety Week - Wildlife Seminar

The Australian Airline Pilots’ Association (AusALPA) conducted a Wildlife Seminar in Sydney on the 4th of March 2011. Please click on the following link to be taken to the official event site:

AusALPA Safety Week Wildlife Seminar

2010 International Bird Strike Conference - Cairns

The 2010 International Bird Strike Conference was recently held in Cairns during September. For more information and access to the papers that were presented, please click on the link to be taken to the official conference website.

Previous AAWHG forums

Information on the previous forums can be accessed via the links below. Some of the presentations from previous forums are also available to view and download:

2012 Forum

2011 Forum

2010: Due to the running of the 2010 International Bird Strike Conference in Cairns, the AAWHG did not run a forum for that year.

AAWHG Home

Fri, 23 May 2008 11:11:18 +1000

Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group Forum: 25 - 26 July, 2013

The AAWHG invites all members and industry stakeholders to our 7th annual forum and industry collaboration. The exciting two day program will be hosted by the Queensland Museum in Brisbane and includes:

International and national case studies from both the civilian and military sectors;
Legal compliance aspects;
National airport land use safeguarding;
Updates in technology, training and research; and
The launch of the new Recommended Practices for wildlife hazard management in Australia.

An industry networking function and an airside tour of Brisbane Airport are also part of the full program.

At only $440 AUD (incl. GST) for the full event, this forum offers excellent value and places are limited. International attendance is also welcomed.

Please click on the event brochure for further information and details on how to register.

Flying Fox fact sheet now available

Thanks to the Australian Museum, a Fying Fox (Australian Pteropus Species) Fact Sheet is now available. Please click on the Science and Research news page for more information.

AAWHG meetings 2013

Following the forum, the remaining meeting for 2013 will be held on Thursday 7 November in Sydney. The meeting location will be confirmed closer to the date.

World Bird Strike Association - New website

The World Bird Strike Association (formally the International Bird Strike Committee) has just launched its new look website at http://worldbirdstrike.com.

More information is available on the world news page.

National Airport Safeguarding Framework - Wildlife Hazard Management Guidelines

The National Airport Safeguarding Framework, has been published and includes land use guidelines for Managing the risk of wildlife strikes in the vicinity of airports.

More information is available on the government news page.

Australian aviation wildlife strike statistics: Bird and animal strikes 2002 to 2011

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released their 2012 report on wildlife strikes in Australia titled: Australian aviation wildlife strike statistics: Bird and animal strikes 2002 to 2011.

More information is available on the government news page.

Site help

Fri, 30 May 2008 11:41:12 +1000

On this page:

Web pages don't look right

This site makes extensive use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to format the pages. This keeps the page sizes to a minimum for faster download times and means that the pages should be readable in a wide variety of browsers, including mobile phones and screen-readers used by the visually impaired.

The problem with CSS is that different browsers interpret the same page differently. Any browser that conforms to the W3C standards should have no problems with this site. In the real world, this means Internet Explorer version 5 and above, Netscape Navigator 6 and above, and browsers such as Safari, Opera and Mozilla should display these pages as we intended. Netscape Navigator version 4.7 and older are likely to fail to display the pages correctly.

However, whatever vintage your browser is, you should still see all the information - the headings will still be there and everything should work - it just won't be as pretty.

I get a "Page not found" error

If you got this error after clicking on a link within the AAWHG web site, one option is to try again in a day or two – all such errors are automatically reported and we try to fix them quickly.

If you were following a link from another site, or using an old favourite, the error page may offer a possible alternative page that will help you find the page you want.

Otherwise, go back to the AAWHG home page and navigate from there; or use the search field in the left menu of every page.

PDF files

Downloading the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader

We recommend that you use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5.0 or later to view PDF files on this site. Download the latest Acrobat reader from the Adobe site

Saving PDF files to disk

If you are having trouble viewing a PDF file in your browser, or you would like to have a copy to look at later, you can download the file to your hard disk.

Windows:

Use the right mouse button to click on the link to the PDF file you need.
A menu will appear. Choose the item "Save target as..." or "Save link as..."
Save the file to your hard drive. You may want to make a note of where you saved it.

Macintosh:

Click and hold the mouse button on the link to the PDF file you need.
After a short pause, a menu will appear. Choose the item "Save this link as..." or "Download link to disk".
Save the file to your hard drive. You may want to make a note of where you saved it.
If you wish, you force PDF files to open outside the browser. Look for Portable Document Format under Applications or File Helpers in the Preferences dialog of your browser. Change the setting to handle PDF files with the application rather than the plug-in.

Problems viewing PDF files

The first option is to try saving the file to your hard disk and opening it from there.

If the PDF page appears blank, read the Microsoft article - Adobe Acrobat .pdf Files Appear as a Blank Window or Frame, which offers a number of solutions to this problem.

If Acrobat Reader shows error messages such as "color space not found", and you are using an Adobe Acrobat reader earlier than version 4, you may need to upgrade to the latest version. While we are attempting to maintain compatibility with earlier versions of Acrobat Reader, this is not always possible.

Printing PDF files

To print an PDF file from your browser:

Scroll to the end of the document to ensure that it has all downloaded to your machine
Click on the Print button in the Acrobat toolbar. Do not use the browser's print button.

If PDF files do not print correctly, there are a couple of things to try:

Download the complete file as described above rather than trying to print from within the browser.
People using MS Windows may need to change the settings on the printer driver.
Choose 'Properties' or 'Options' in the print dialog. Look for options that allow you to set fonts to download as bitmap fonts and use raster graphics rather than vector graphics.

Contact the webmaster

If all else fails, contact the AAWHG web master.

AAWHG news

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 12:08:50 +1100

2013

7th Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group Forum - 25 to 26 July 2013 - Brisbane

Details of the 7th AAWHG forum are now available from our events page. Registrations are now open so please act quickly to ensure you don't miss out on a great event.

Website enhancement: Improved news page structure

The website now contains dedicated pages for wildlife hazard news, articles, case studies and projects sourced from many members of the AAWHG and affiliated groups including:

AAWHG

Government agencies and Air Traffic Management service providers

Airports and Aerodromes

Aircraft Operators, Airlines and Pilots

Science and research

Worldwide

Website enhancement: Suppliers and service providers section - now live

The AAWHG now features a suppliers and service providers section so that the industry can more easily obtain assistance for their wildlife hazard management programs.

Changes to AAWHG executive positions

Following the November 2012 executive meeting, some of the positions and representatives in the AAWHG have changed. More information can be found on the AAWHG executive section of the site.

2012

AAWHG Wildlife Management Forum 2012

The Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group conducted its annual wildlife hazard forum in Sydney on the 5th and 6th of September. Thanks to the Australian Museum, Sydney Airport, the presenters and participants who all contributed to marking this event a success.

Copies of the presentations are now available. Please see the 2012 forum page for more information.

2011

AAWHG Wildlife Management Forum 2011

The Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group conducted its annual wildlife hazard forum in Adelaide on the 16th of August.

The AAWHG would like to thank Adelaide Airport Ltd for sponsoring the event and we also wish to thank the speakers and participants who made the event a success.

All available presentations from the 2011 forum have been loaded onto the website.

Website enhancement: Media section - now live

The AAWHG now features a general media section containing videos and newspaper articles on aviation wildlife hazard management.

2010

Commonwealth Recognition of the AAWHG

In July 2010, the Department of Infrastructure and Transport formally recognised the AAWHG under the Aviation Implementation Group as being a key player in the development of future aviation policy related to wildlife hazard management.

International Bird Strike Conference - Cairns

The International Bird Strike Committee organised their 2010 International Bird Strike Conference in Cairns, Australia. The AAWHG helped support the conference and also provided presentations from various group members.

For more information and access to the papers that were presented, please click on the above link to be taken to the official conference website.

2009

Bird and Animal Forum 2009

Around 80 people, representing numerous sectors of the aviation industry, attended the 2009 AAWHG Education and information sharing forum.

Presentations were made at the forum by a number of experts in the field of bird and animal hazard management. The keynote address was provided by the chair of the International Bird strike Committee, Dr John Allen.

The Forum was kindly hosted by Brisbane Airport and was also sponsored by the Australian Airports Association and Adelaide Airport.

2008

Bird and Animal Forum 2008

Kindly hosted again by Sydney Airport, the aviation industry came together again for the 2008 AAWHG education and information sharing forum. Presentations were made at the forum by a number of experts in the field of bird and animal hazard management.

Australasian Aviation Fauna Hazard Management Forum and Information Portal

If you want a wildlife management question answered by a member of the AAWHG or from another industry professional, you can post a question on the Portal and check back later to see the responses provided.

Please click on this link to access the Online forum and information portal

2007

Bird and Animal Forum 2007

Over 80 people, representing all sectors of the aviation industry, came along to a recent forum to discuss the issue of bird and animal hazards and share how their organisations were managing the problem.

About the AAWHG

Fri, 23 May 2008 11:11:18 +1000

What is a wildlife strike?

A bird or animal strike results when a bird or animal and an aircraft collide.

Historically, over 90% of reported strikes have occurred on or in close proximity to airports (ICAO, 1999). Since 1998, there have been over 219 human fatalities due to bird strike (Dolbeer 2008), and it is estimated that bird strike can cost the civil aviation industry US$1.2-1.5 billion per annum (Allan 2006). Such high costs result from more than just damage to engines and airframes, it also includes residual impacts on airline operating costs such as delays, rescheduling, reduced customer satisfaction and insurance claims.

The consequence and severity of bird strike is largely determined by the number and size of animals struck, phase of flight and aircraft part hit. Large birds are capable of destroying engines and strikes that involve more than one animal (multiple strikes) can be more serious, potentially disabling engines and/or resulting in major accidents.

References

Allan, J. O., 2006. A Heuristic Risk Assessment Technique for Birdstrike Management at Airports Risk Analysis, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 723-729, June 2006
Dolbeer R.A. 2008. Bird-strike Committee USA website. www.birdstrike.org
ICAO 1999. The need to strengthen the provisions of ICAO annex 14, Volume 1, relating to bird control on and in the vicinity of Airports. In Bird Strike '99. Vancouver, Canada

Who are the Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group?

The Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group (AAWHG) was formed as a result of a recommendations from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau Report The Hazards Posed to Aircraft by Birds (261kb).

Since its beginnings in 2003, the group has continued its work in promoting awareness of aviation wildlife strikes. The group also aims to bring together both government and industry to support a national approach to this important aviation safety issue.

Terms of Reference

To enhance awareness of the safety issues surrounding bird and animal strikes.
To provide an opportunity for bird and animal strike information, knowledge and advise to be shared.
To determine directions for future research, regulations and procedures to mitigate the risk posed by birds and animals to aircraft.

Charter

Further information about the Australian Bird and Animal Hazard Working Group can be found in the Statement of Purpose and Charter (101 kb).

The AAWHG Executive

Contact information for the members of the Executive has been provided.

Publications and tools

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:02:12 +1100

CASA Advisory Circular: Wildlife Hazard Management at Aerodromes

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), with the support of the AAWHG, has published its first Advisory Circular on Wildlife Hazard Management at Aerodromes.

The circular aims to provide information and guidance to the operators of aerodromes to monitor, manage and report their wildlife hazards in accordance with the applicable regulations and standards.

Bird Risk Assessment Model for Airports and Aerodromes

The University of Adelaide and Adelaide Airport Ltd, supported by the AAWHG, have developed a Bird Risk Assessment Model for Airports and Aerodromes.

The model aims to assist in the assessment of the relative risk of an aviation strike posed by bird species at individual airports/aerodromes. The model also provides a framework to support those aerodromes required by the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations to produce a wildlife management plan.

This tool should allow airport and aerodrome operators to rank species and then focus their bird hazard reduction programs on those species presenting the greatest risk. Both quantitative and qualitative measures of abundances and strikes are used to rank probabilities of a species being involved in a strike at a particular airport since airports differ in the quality and quantity of information that they hold.

In this way the tool is designed to take into account different levels of knowledge and available statistics for different airports.

Bird Risk Assessment Model for Airports and Aerodromes (661 KB)

Wildlife Hazard Management Plan - Updated Template

The AAWHG together with the Australian Airports Associaton and Avisure have updated the Wildlife Hazard Management Plan template. (838 kb)

This document is a useful resource for aerodromes wishing to prepare or update their Wildlife Hazard Management Plan. The template has been designed so that the non relevant sections can be removed and the content taylored to suit the size and complexity of the airport.

Detailed instructions for its use are contained within the template. Please contact info@aawhg.org if you have any further questions.

Wildlife information sheets

A set of Bird Information sheets have been developed by the ATSB and cover the 8 birds considered to be hazardous to aircraft operations.

These information sheets are available to download from the ATSB website.

Kay-Lora Tang and Anja Divljan from the Australian Museum have produced a Fying Fox (Australian Pteropus Species) fact sheet. This sheet contains useful information on the location, habitat, diet, behaviour and lifespan of this species. Please click on the link provided for more information.

National Airport Safeguarding Framework - Wildlife Hazard Management Guidelines

Through the National Airport Safeguarding Framework, the Department of Infrastructure and Transport has published land use guidelines for Managing the risk of wildlife strikes in the vicinity of airports. These guidelines and further information on safeguarding airports and the Aviation white paper can be accessed through the Department website.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Reports and Research Papers

In 2012, the ATSB released an updated report analysing the birdstrikes that were reported between the years 2002 and 2011. Please click on the following link to access this report:

ATSB bird strike report (2002-2011)

Please refer to the following link for copies of previous ATSB reports:

ATSB bird strike report (2002-2009)

ATSB bird strike report (2002-2006)

In 2003, the ATSB released a research paper on the Hazard Posed to Aircraft by Birds. This paper was integral to the formation of the Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group.

Airport Case Studies

At our regular forums, various airports have presented case studies on their wildlife hazard management programs. Copies are these presentations are available on our events page by clicking on the year of the applicable forum.

ICAO Electronic Bulletin: 2001 - 2007 Bird Strike Analysis (IBIS)

The International Civil Aviation Organization has recently released Electronic Bulletin (EB 2009/37) titled:

2001-2007 Bird Strike Analyses (IBIS).

This report in summary, provides analysis on the bird strikes that were reported to ICAO over this period and provides some interesting information on Wildlife Hazard Management from a uniquely international perspective. To view a copy of the bulletin, please click on the above link.

Industry Articles:

Flight Safety Australia (Civil Aviation Safety Authority)

March - April 2011: Special article on Wildlife Strikes

July - August 2012: Article on the CASA aerodrome survey conducted in 2011. This survey including questions on the techniques used by aerodrome operators for wildlife hazard management.

Aero Magazine (Boeing)

3rd Quarter 2011: Strategies for Prevention of Bird Strike events (601 kb)

Wildlife Meeting Calendar

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:01:28 +1100

The AAWHG have compiled a list of the various Wildlife Managment Meetings being held across Australia and also in the local region.

This list is updated regularly as we are informed of new committees and their meeting dates.

Please click on the link to download the latest version: Wildlife Meeting Calendar (16kb)

General Media

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:37:55 +1000

This page contains various general media and material on wildlife strikes and wildlife hazard management.

Disclaimer

Please note that some of these images, presentations and videos show wildlife after a strike event and hence may be distressing to some viewers.

Please also note that any media information stored or referenced through this site may be subject to copyright and should not be copied, reproduced and/or presented in any form without the express permission of the original author, creator or owner.

Videos

B757 bird strike and engine injestion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KhZwsYtNDE

Fighter jet bird strike:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd57bR8FKKQ

Cessna Bird Strike:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgXkRgkHUk0&NR=1

Redbull bird strike:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRRkBNf8T9w&feature=fvw

A319 bird strike:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35FVYzf0uiY&feature=related

News Media

Canberra Times, Sydney Morning Herald and The Age - "Planes battered by bird strikes", November 25 2012:

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/travel/travel-news/planes-battered-by-bird-strikes-20121124-2a02h.html

http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/planes-battered-by-bird-strikes-20121124-2a02h.html

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/planes-battered-by-bird-strikes-20121124-2a02h.html

Suppliers and Service Providers

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:29:18 +1100

AAWHG Disclaimer:

This listing supplies the names and business contact details of suppliers of services and products for wildlife hazard management.

The listing is provided to assist in making contact with suppliers of wildlife hazard management services and products only, and the AAWHG makes no representation about the quality of the suppliers or the fitness for any particular purpose of their services or products.

The list has been compiled by the AAWHG from information provided to the AAWHG by suppliers of wildlife hazard management services and products, and while the AAWHG has taken reasonable steps to ensure that the information which is provided to it by suppliers is listed correctly, the AAWHG does not represent that any of the information contained in the listing is accurate.

Since the inclusion, deletion or amendment of a supplier's details on the list is at the request of the supplier, the AAWHG does not represent that the listing is either complete or up-to-date.

Australian Museum Wildlife Genetics & Microscopy Unit

The Australian Museum Wildlife Genetics Unit has approximately 10 years' experience in the analysis and identification of wildlife-strike samples from airports around Australia and South East Asia. Our extensive DNA reference database contains thousands of reference samples from Wildlife Strike cases along with samples from the Australian Museums Bird and Bat collection. The Wildlife Genetics Unit staff are happy to answer any of your questions on sample collection or DNA based Species Identification.

Services:
• Supply of Wildlife-Strike DNA Collection Kits for the Aviation Industry

• DNA based species identification Service.

Contact:

Australian Museum Wildlife Genetics Unit

Email: airstrike@austmus.gov.au

Phone: 02 9320 6488, 9320 6292

Address: 6 College Street, Sydney NSW 2010
Web: http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/bird-strike

PGG Wrightson Turf (New Zealand)

PGG Wrightson Turf has been breeding turfgrass seed specifically for the Australasian environment for over 30 years and has established itself as an innovative market leader in turfgrass breeding, and turf research and evaluation. Products sold by PGG Wrightson Turf undergo a rigorous testing and screening process from our local and international research partners, including STRI UK, NTEP USA, ANTEP Australia, University of Sydney turfgrass programme, and NZSTI New Zealand.

PGG Wrightson Turf has developed in conjunction with Ag Research and Grasslanz Technologies an new product called AVANEX^®. AVANEX^®unique endophyte technology assists in reducing the number of insects or birds on or near airfields. Herbivorous birds and insects learn not to graze areas where Avanex is sown, furthermore trials are been done to investigate the affect this grass has on bigger animals with positive results.

Services:

Supplier of turf products including the AVANEX^®with unique endophyte technology
Turfgrass breeding and product evaluation programme
Supplier of non-seed products such as fertilisers, pesticides, line markers, machinery and mulch products

Contact:

Mark Shaw, Product Development Manager

Email: mshaw@pggwrightsonturf.co.nz

Phone: +64 27 499 8327

Address: 57 Waterloo Road, Hornby 8042. PO Box 939 Christchurch 8142, New Zealand

Scarecrow Bio-Acoustic Systems Ltd (United Kingdom)

Services:

Bio-acoustic systems for bird dispersal and deterrent
Distress and interspecies calls
Technical support and advice
Can suppy to Australia.

Contacts:

Danielle Rose (Sales Consultant)

David Randell (Co-Director)
Lee Pannett (Co-Director)
Email: sales@scarecrow.eu

Phone: +44 (0)1825 766363

Address: The Old Dairy, Straight Half Mile, Maresfield, East Sussex, TN22 2HH, UK.

Wildlife CSI Pty Ltd

We can provide experienced and qualified zoologists, fauna ecologists, wildlife specialists and fauna handlers and offer expertise in the professional capture, salvage and relocation of all fauna. Our focus is on animal welfare, fauna management, salvage, relocation and conservation. Our staff and associates have more than 20 years of experience each in wildlife management including the use of tranquiliser rifles.

Services:

Fauna Salvage & Relocation
Fauna Habitat Assessment
Fauna Survey
Fauna Management
Wildlife Population Modelling

Contact:

Peter Myroniuk, Director & Zoologist
Email: peter@wildlifecsi.com.au
Phone: +61 03 5423 5282
Mobile: 0431 252 477

Address: PO Box 374, Woodend Victoria 3442, Australia

Can you offer a wildlife hazard management service, product or provide the industry with assistance?

If so, please apply via our contact address info@aawhg.org and provide us with the following information:

Company/Organisation name;
Contact person(s) including email and phone details;
Company address; and
A brief description of the service, product or assistance that can be provided.

The AAWHG executive will then review your application and if approved, your details will be posted on this page.

Science and Research news

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:14:07 +1100

2013

Flying Fox fact sheet

2006

Birds identified using DNA

The DNA project funded by the ATSB has been finalised. A copy of the findings (791kb) of the trial undertaken jointly by the Australian Museum and Museum Victoria is available to download.

Aerodromes can still use the DNA sampling kits (for a fee) from the Australian Museum to help identify birds.

For further detail contact the Australian Museum Wildlife Genetics Unit

Email: airstrike@austmus.gov.au

Phone: 02 9320 6488, 9320 6292

Address: 6 College Street, Sydney NSW 2010
Web: http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/bird-strike