Avicast: Recent Episodes
Avisure
A podcast by wildlife hazard management experts Avisure where we discuss all things wildlife hazard management on and around airports
Although most wildlife strikes do not result in significant damage or catastrophic consequences, having a well-defined system for investigation when this does occur will help explain why the strike occurred, how it may be avoided in the future, and it may even be useful is cases of litigation. Significant strike investigations collect key data relating to the species, the aircraft, the airport, meteorological conditions, and so on, to provide a complete picture of the strike event. Dr Jeff McKee joins Kylie Patrick to talk about the how and why of strike investigation.
Melbourne Airport is the primary airport serving Melbourne, Australia. With the upcoming addition of their third runway, they will be facilitating more than 77 million passenger movements and 429,000 aircraft movements each year. And their current wildlife management program is in a very good position to manage any increase to the wildlife strike risk. In this episode, Kylie Patrick talks to Fiona Beach (Airfield Safety and Operations Coordinator) and Bevin Buchanan (Senior Airside Safety Officer) from Melbourne Airport about their wildlife issues and how their program is managing them.
Melbourne Airport Wildlife Hazard Management Policy
Melbourne Airport LinkedIn
Martin Ziviani and Kylie Patrick discuss the complexities of using lethal control to manage hazardous wildlife on airports.
Counting birds on airports is one of the standard elements of an airport's wildlife management program. This data can be used to measure the progress and effectiveness of your program, identify emerging issues, and assess risks. But these counts need to be well established and implemented to have any benefit. Martin Ziviani (Snr Wildlife Biologist) joins Kylie Patrick (Principal Consultant) to talk about the how and why to set up and do bird counts on airports
Alexandra Stone joins Kylie Patrick to talk about how to best manage ducks on and off airports.
Avisure is taking a break over the holidays but we'll be back with more great epsiodes from February 2023
Kylie Patrick is joined by Tony Goodwin (Avisure Wildlife Management Officer ) and Shane Van Dijk (Avisure Wildlife Biologist) to talk about Little Corella, the risk they pose and the best approach to managing these charasmatic but problematic birds. Little Corella (Australian Museum) Little Corellas: Social and Ecological Research for Management in South Australia ABC News Australia: Wildlife experts question why huge corella flocks on coast
Little Corella (Australian Museum)
Little Corellas: Social and ecological research for management in South Australia
ABC News Australia: Wildlife experts question why huge corella flocks on coast
Kylie Patrick is joined by Tony Goodwin (Avisure Wildlife Management Officer ) and Shane Van Dijk (Avisure Wildlife Biologist) to talk about Little Corella, the risk they pose and the best approach to managing these charasmatic but problematic birds. Little Corella (Australian Museum) Little Corellas: Social and Ecological Research for Management in South Australia ABC News Australia: Wildlife experts question why huge corella flocks on coast
Little Corella (Australian Museum)
Little Corellas: Social and ecological research for management in South Australia
ABC News Australia: Wildlife experts question why huge corella flocks on coast
In one of our earlier Avicast episodes, we talked about a very small, but very common bird on Australian airports, the Fairy Martin. This little aerial forager is often mistaken for any number of little aerial foragers, including the topic of this episode, the Tree Martin. Alexandra Stone, Avisure's Wildlife Biologist, is back in the co-host chair to talk all about the Tree Martin and how to best manage them.
Tree Martin
In one of our earlier Avicast episodes, we talked about a very small, but very common bird on Australian airports, the Fairy Martin. This little aerial forager is often mistaken for any number of little aerial foragers, including the topic of this episode, the Tree Martin. Alexandra Stone, Avisure's Wildlife Biologist, is back in the co-host chair to talk all about the Tree Martin and how to best manage them.
Tree Martin
Kylie Patrick is joined by Avisure's Principal Biologist, Will Jamieson and Wildlife Biologist Tyler Rogers to talk all things Canada Geese. These geese have been implicated in some of the most spectacular and serious strike incidents, and in this episode we talk about how to best manage them.
FAA Wildlife Strike Report 1990-2020
NTSB Investigation Report - Miracle on the Hudson
Canada Geese range maps
Birds of the World - Canada Geese
Skybrary - Some significant wildlife strikes civil aircraft USA 1990-2021
In April 2020 COVID-induced travel restrictions reduced aircraft movements by 80% globally, which was unarguably the greatest challenge the aviation industry has ever faced. But how did the sudden downturn in aircraft activity influence wildlife using airports? And what did this look like for strike numbers and rates?
Joining Kylie Patrick in this episode is aviation professional Dan Parsons who has been keenly analyzing strikes and aircraft movement data throughout the pandemic
Dan Parsons - LinkedIn
The Runway Centreline blog page
FAA presentation at the World Birdstrike Association conference
ICAO COVID-19 related ATS mitigations to potential hazards
ICAO COVID-19 economic impact
Corona virus impact on the aviation industry worldwide
Journal: Human-Wildlife Interactions
Dr Jeff McKee, Avisure’s Director of Research & Development joins Kylie Patrick to talk about large bats called flying-foxes. Infringing critical airspace sometimes in their thousands, they can present a serious strike risk, and are difficult for airports to manage, not just because of their numbers but also because they rarely use the airport itself as a resource. In this episode we introduce the flying-fox, why they are a strike risk, and how airports and other aviation stakeholders can mitigate their risk.
Australian flying-foxes
Australian flying-fox distribution
Flying-foxes (general)
National monitoring program
Australian Bat Lyssavirus
Hendra Virus
Western Sydney University Animal Ecology Lab Justin Welbergen
As an airport, you may have in place a fully integrated and well-resourced management program, but … how do you know it’s working? The answer is data. The most objective and informed way to measure the progress of your program is to review and analyse your data against the targets and goals you have set. But not all data is reliable, and not all data capture methods are equal. In this episode Kylie is joined by Avisure's Wildlife Biologist, Alexandra Stone, to talk about good data and data collection apps. Fulcrum AVCRM
Airside Tracker
Tap Forms
Noggin
Vancouver International Airport, Canada’s second busiest airport, sits on Sea Island in the Fraser River Delta where the marshes, mudflats and agriculture habitats on and around the delta attract millions of shorebirds, and thousands of waterfowl and gulls each year. To manage the wildlife strike risk associated with these hazards, the airport has in place one of the most comprehensive wildlife management programs in the world. Joining Kylie in this episode to talk about this program is David Bradbeer, YVR’s Wildlife Program Specialist, and from Avisure Services, Tyler Rogers, who is the Site Manager for YVR’s wildlife management program. YVR wildlife program Avisure Services
Pacific Northwest Raptors
Downriver Farm
Hungarian Mudi
Fraser River Delta
Snow Goose
Mallard
Glaucous-winged Gull
Green-winged Teal
Great Blue Heron
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Short-eared Owl
Barn Owl
Bald Eagle
Barn Swallow
Coyote
When it comes to managing wildlife hazards on airports, you want to make sure that whoever is doing that management, knows what they are doing. And just like every other aspect of aviation safety management, training is critical. In this episode Kylie Patrick (Principal Consultant) is joined by Jeff Follet (General Manager for Avisure Services) and they talk about what training requirements look like around the world, and what it should look like. A must-listen-to episode for anyone that needs training and for those who are developing and delivering it.
FAA Advisory Circular 150_5200-36
Australia CASA Manual of Standards Part 139
Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group - Recommended Practice 5.1.1 Training and Competency
Canada CAR 322
Brazil RBAC 153
ICAO Doc 9137
EASA Rules for Aerodromes
Transport Canada - Sharing the Skies
Transport Canada - Wildlife Control Procedures Manual
Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) are a problem at many Australian airports, but managing ibis off-airport is the key to managing them on-airport. In this episode we join the collective experience from Avisure and our sister company Ecosure to talk about ibis management. Joining Kylie is Martin Ziviani (Senior Wildlife Biologist), and our very special guest Carla McKevitt (Ecologist) from Ecosure.
Ecosure
Ibis management (Ecosure)
Australian White Ibis
Straw-necked Ibis
Adult call copyright Fraser Simpson and Chick call copyright Pritam Baruah
John Weller joined the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2009 as a National Wildlife Biologist just weeks after the ditching of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. In this episode he talks to Kylie Patrick about his role with the FAA and the protocols they have in place to help airports identify and manage wildlife hazards throughout the United States.
FAA wildlife strike database
FAA wildlife resources
AC150/5200-32 Reporting Wildlife Aircraft Strikes
AC150/5200-33 Hazardous Wildlife Attractants On or Near Airports
AC150/5200-34 Construction or Establishment of Landfills near Public Airports
AC150/5200-36 Qualifications for Wildlife Biologists
AC150/5200-38 Protocol for the Conduct and Review of Wildlife Hazard Site Visits, Wildlife Hazard Assessments, and Wildlife Hazard Management Plans
AC150/5220-25 Airport Avian Radar Systems
Flight 1549 NTSB Accident Report
The Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group (AAWHG) is formally recognised as Australia’s primary aviation wildlife hazard management reference body and fulfils Australia’s commitment to have a national bird strike committee as recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Full of expertise from a cross-section of industry, the AAWHG are a go-to for the Australian aviation industry. AAWHG’s chair, Ash McAlpine, joins Kylie Patrick to talk about what they do.
AAWHG October 2021 Webinar Series
Plane Wild (AAWHG newsletter)
Resources
Recommended Practices
ICAO and AAWHG Webinar 1
ICAO and AAWHG Webinar 2
Kylie Patrick is joined by Martin Ziviani (Senior Wildlife Biologist) to talk about a particularly problematic and territorial species, the Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles). They introduce lapwings, discuss why they are a strike risk, and talk about approaches to managing them on airports.
Masked Lapwing call (source)
Masked Lapwings
Lapwings around the world
ATSB Australian aviation wildlife strike statistics 2008 – 2017
Kylie is joined by Phil Shaw, Avisure’s Managing Director. Phil is one of the leading experts in wildlife risk assessment and mitigation in aviation, and in this episode, Kylie and Phil talk about the basics of assessing wildlife risks on airports and why it's important.
John Allan Risk Assessment
Richard Dolbeer 1
Richard Dolbeer 2
Avisure’s Principal Consultant, Kylie Patrick, is joined by our Wildlife Biologist, Alexandra Stone. In this episode, Kylie and Alex talk about a small but very common bird on Australian airports, Fairy Martins (Petrochelidon ariel). They discuss how to identify them from other similar species, their strike risk, and ways to manage them.
Fairy Martin
Tree Martin
Welcome Swallow
Kylie is joined again by Martin Ziviani, Avisure's Senior Wildlife Biologist. In this episode, Kylie and Marty talk about why identifying birds on airports is critical to an effective wildlife management program. They talk about how challenging it can be for people who aren’t specifically trained in ornithology (the science of birds), or for those who aren't that interested in birds, and how these challenges can be overcome using a few simple tips.
Avisure bird identification service
Australian birds: Birds in Backyard
New Zealand Birds
BirdLife Australia
BirdLIfe International
Birds of the World
Australia bird identification guide - Pizzey and Knight
Australia bird identification guide - Slater
USA bird identification guide - Stan Tekiela
NZ bird identification guide - Andrew Crowe
Brazil bird identification guide - Tomas Sigrist
India bird identification guide - Anand Saxena
Canada bird identification guide - J Finlay
Japan bird identification guide - Tadao Shimba
Indonesia bird identification guide - Morten Strange
Britain bird identification guide - Paul Sterry
South America bird identification guide - Francisco Erize
East Africa bird identification guide - Terry Stevenson
In this episode Kylie Patrick is joined by Captain Brian Greeves, Director of Aviation Solutions and a safety and technical consultant for the Australian & International Pilots Associations. We discuss some of the challenges pilots face when confronted with wildlife hazards and identify gaps in training to help pilots mitigate strikes.
For the audio transmission shared in this episode, we note that there is no intended criticism of the crew or ATC. Rather, we see these examples as important learning experiences to help inform future decision making relating to wildlife hazard management in aviation.
Aviation Solutions
Australian Airline Pilots' Association
Kalitta Air - European Kestrel strike
Flying-foxes
Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group Recommended Practice: Flight Crew – Training and Competency
Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group Recommended Practice: Phraseology
Bruce MacKinnon legacy: Sharing the Skies
In this episode Kylie Patrick is joined again by our Principal Biologist, Will Jamieson, where they talk about some key rules airports should consider if they want their wildlife hazard management programs to be effective.
Kylie Patrick is joined by Martin Ziviani, Senior Wildlife Biologist for Avisure. In this Avicast episode, Kylie and Marty talk about using dogs on airports to disperse wildlife. They discuss what's involved in finding the right dog, training the dog and handler, and some of the risks and challenges with using dogs on airports.
Joe the Wonder Dog
Craig Murray Dog Training
Border Collies at Dover AFB
Kylie Patrick is joined by Nick Yearwood, a freelance aviation consultant from the UK (International Birdstrike) who worked for the UK's Civil Aviation Authority for 36 years. Nick's regulatory experience spans oversight/compliance, policy decision making with international influencing, working with airport operators, global air carriers, and ground handling organisations. As a regulator, he spent many years working with airports around the UK and EU on wildlife hazard management, and in this episode Kylie and Nick talk about the role of the regulator in aviation wildlife hazard management.
CAP 772 Wildlife Hazard Management at Aerodromes
Avisure's Principal Consultant, Kylie Patrick is joined by our Principal Biologist/Regional Manager, Will Jamieson. In this episode Kylie and Will talk about a uniquely Australian issue, kangaroos on airports. They discuss the significant strike risk associated with such a large terrestrial mammal and how airports can manage the risk, with a particular emphasis on good fences to exclude them from airside areas.
Kangaroos
Caselaw: Five Star Medical Centre Pty Ltd v Kempsey Shire Council
Avisure's Principal Consultant, Kylie Patrick, is joined by Phil Shaw, Managing Director of Avisure and Ecosure. In this first episode, Kylie and Phil talk about what listeners can expect from Avicast, introduce the global wildlife strike database, and discuss some of the strengths and challenges in the way the aviation industry approaches wildlife hazard management.
Wildlife strike database
Calbraith Rodgers
Miracle on the Hudson
Miracle on the corn field
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 B737-8 (MAX) March 2019