The other thing that I was thinking about this is that they said planes were struck by migrating owls. I couldn't imagine how killing owls that had already arrived could ever solve that problem.
Linda Orkin Sent from my iPhone On Dec 10, 2013, at 5:48 PM, Dave Nutter <nutter.d...@me.com> wrote: > Thank-you, everyone, for compiling the information & (making) videos, and > helping the Port Authority mend their ways. > I was "struck" by one irony in the newscast, however. I'm familiar with the > term "bird-strike," and I had always considered it as shorthand for the pilot > saying, "We've struck a bird." Yet the news reporters and even Fitz talked > about birds striking airplanes. Let's be clear about the relationship. When > the airplane is sitting still, the bird does not slam into it the way a > confused bird hits a reflective window while fleeing a predator or hits a > building or tower while migrating and confused by the lights at night. An > idling airplane might actively suck a passing bird into its propellers or jet > engine, I suppose, but I doubt birds would often fly that close to a > stationary but noisy airplane. When these collisions take place, they are > really pretty one-sided. A bird is moving at tens of miles per hour at most, > and although birds are very maneuverable, it seems some of them don't get out > of the way quickly enough or properly assess the speed, path and danger of > moving airplanes. The airplanes, on the other hand, are traveling several > times as fast as the birds, perhaps a hundred MPH on the runway and a couple > times more than that as they take off and climb. The airplanes are not very > maneuverable, although I have been on a small plane whose pilot decided to go > around and make a second landing attempt because of a flock of gulls on or > near the runway. What happens, occasionally, is that an airplane strikes a > bird. The result destroys the bird pretty much every time, I'm guessing. I > know that the species of bird is sometimes identified using bits of feathers > remaining inside the engine. Airplane windshields are designed to withstand > bird strikes. Testing is done by loading dead poultry into a cannon and > firing it at the airplane windshield. My guess (correct me if I'm wrong, > everybody) is that many bird strikes are on the nose, wings, or tail of the > airplane, not the engine, and therefore do not do noteworthy damage to the > airplane, although the engines probably take more than their share, based on > their size, because they are actively sucking air in. Yes, it's a big problem > for an airplane when anything as large, massive, and more-or-less solid as a > bird goes through a turbine. And we want to keep the people on that airplane > safe. But let's keep it straight: The airplane strikes the bird. A Snowy Owl > or (far more dangerous) a flock of hundreds of Canada Geese may be dumb about > how to deal with airplanes, but it's not their fault. > --Dave Nutter > > On Dec 10, 2013, at 03:25 PM, Laura Stenzler <l...@cornell.edu> wrote: > >> Here is a list of updates and links to further information about the Snowy >> Owls of New York airports. Check out the Today Show link, as well as the >> others. Great stuff! Thanks to Pat Leonard at the Cornell Lab of >> Ornithology for putting this information together and sharing it! >> Laura >> Laura Stenzler >> l...@cornell.edu >> >> Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 3:02 PM >> To: CLO-L >> Subject: [clo-l] Snowy owl udpates >> >> Hi all, >> >> You undoubtedly know we’re in the middle of a massive influx of Snowy Owls >> and we wanted to get you up-to-date on some of the publicity surrounding it. >> >> --Fitz recorded an interview last night that was part of a larger news story >> that ran this morning on NBC’s Today Show: >> http://www.today.com/video/today/53788217/#53788217 >> >> >> >> --We and the press office have sent out a Tip Sheet: http://eepurl.com/KsBTX >> >> >> >> --Kevin caught some video of a LOCAL Snowy Owl this afternoon, a young male >> hanging around the Lansing fire station. You can see it via Cornell Box >> here: https://cornell.box.com/s/uk9ftraxfbei8ipf9nmb >> >> >> >> --Of course we have the great 2011 material shot in the Washington State, >> where the bird lives. It’s on ourYouTube channel. http://youtu.be/Ufkcx-UqljM >> >> --Take a look at even more stunning Snowy Owl video in the Macaulay Library >> archive, including nesting owls feeding their young. Have a look. >> >> --And don’t forget to check the latest live eBird map to see where this >> beauty is showing up! >> http://ebird.org/ebird/map/snoowl1?neg=true&env.minX=&env.minY=&env.maxX=&env.maxY=&zh=false&gp=false&ev=Z&mr=on&bmo=11&emo=12&yr=cur >> >> >> >> Enjoy! >> >> >> Pat Leonard, Staff Writer/Media Relations >> Cornell Lab of Ornithology >> (607) 254-2137 >> pe...@cornell.edu >> >> >> www.birds.cornell.edu >> >> >> >> >> -- >> Cayugabirds-L List Info: >> Welcome and Basics >> >> Rules and Information >> >> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >> >> Archives: >> The Mail Archive >> >> Surfbirds >> >> BirdingOnThe.Net >> >> Please submit your observations to eBird! >> -- > > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
