ORLANDO, Fla. — According to the FAA, bird strikes are rising because of more air travel, quieter engines, and a growing wildlife population.
There have been 341 bird strikes in Florida so far this year, with 55 happening at Orlando International Airport.
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From pyrotechnics to fishing, there are a handful of different ways crews keep birds away at Orlando International Airport and if it weren’t for them, officials said there’d be more strikes and more damage.
Johnny Metcalf, a wildlife biologist and the assistant vice president of airfield operations at the airport, said OIA is one of the few airports in the country with its own dedicated wildlife team.
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Shots and sounds scare the birds away, moving them out of a flight path but there are also preventative measures the team takes
“Water is an attractant and the things in the water are attractants,” Metcalf said.
So they relocate out the fish the birds like to feed on to a pond farther away from the airport’s runways.
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“Bird strikes are going up because air travel is getting busier and busier,” Metcalf said. “But it’s still relatively safe. So don’t fear that because you’ve got us.”
Metcalf has been on the airport’s team for more than two decades and says the wildlife hasn’t changed much but the airport and travel sure have.
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“We’ve got more and more planes that are intersecting the airspace with birds so it makes it a little bit more challenging,” he said.
But his team is out there from sun up to sundown, watching and working more than 1,200 acres to keep you safe in the skies.
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